Blood of My Blood
by DatNookieThang
Summary: Anika and Cookie may be mortal enemies. But when you mess with one Lyon, you mess with them all. Chapter nine: Lucious and Anika bring their unhappy marriage to a happy end. All's well that ends well...right?
1. I Want You Back

Cookie always thought – as anyone who knew Cookie would think – that if a man ever put his hands on her, she would be on his ass like Anika on random dick. By the time Cookie was sitting in an emergency room in Staten Island having her ribs X-rayed and repeatedly refusing a rape kit, Cookie was already down the rabbit hole, wondering how in the world she got there in the first place.

It started off small. The harsh way Angelo spoke to her sometimes. The demanding questions. The way he would go through her things – first her cabinets, then her purse, then her phone. Angelo also wanted to know where she was at all times. He popped up at the Empire building unannounced, then her apartment. The surprise visits were sweet to her at first. He would bring her lunch. They would listen to music or talk about Angelo's campaign or Cookie's latest projects. They would make love in her office or just hold each other and fall asleep on the couch. Anything for them to spend some time together.

As time went on, Angelo started criticizing what Cookie wore and how she talked. The things that Angelo used to love about her – the things that gave him a boost in the polls thanks to the "Cookie effect" – were the things Angelo was starting to dislike about her. _Do you have to be so loud?_ _Why do you talk like a hoodrat?_ _Don't you know anything?_ _They're not laughing with you - they're laughing at you. Go change your dress. Take those loud-ass earrings off and put on some smaller ones. And get rid of those ghetto-ass fingernails._

Angelo also demanded that she stop using the name Cookie. "You're going to be a first lady," he said. "Why do you have a nickname that sounds like I picked you up from the street corner?"

"You didn't mind my name when it was helping your campaign." Cookie absolutely refused to change her name, but when Angelo started calling her Lori, Cookie answered him every time. It was his special name for her, as Porsha learned the hard way. "You don't call her that!" Angelo thundered when Porsha, thinking that Cookie had changed her name, respectfully called her Lori. "Only I can call her that. You understand? _Do you understand!?"_ he yelled when Porsha didn't answer fast enough.

Porsha notwithstanding, Angelo was loved by everyone. Even Porsha forgave him when he gave her a Coach gift card and an apology card. Angelo was charming and witty, gregarious and intelligent. He had a big heart and deep pockets, and he loved to share his fortune with everybody. Even Lucious warmed up to Angelo once he realized that Coocious or Luckie or whatever the hell they were being called this week was dead. _"Ooh, you got a good man, Cookie!"_ the women would say time and time again when Angelo showed up with flowers or an intimate lunch for two, always with a charming smile. _"I wish I could get me an Angelo!"_

Angelo loved Cookie, but there was one woman who was a threat to their relationship: Anika. Angelo _loved_ Anika, and it appeared that Anika _loved_ Angelo. If Cookie was busy or unavailable, one could always the two of them hanging out in the conference room or the foyer, just laughing it up. Anika was the kind of woman born to be a first lady. Cookie was not.

Anyone could see how enchanted Angelo was by Anika. Ever since meeting Anika, Angelo couldn't get the bougie debutante off his mind. _Why can't you act more like Anika? Why don't you dress like Anika? Why don't you talk to Anika about how to act like a lady?_

"Why don't you go be with Anika?" Cookie interrupted one day. "Since you want me to act like Anika so damn bad."

"Because I love you, Cookie," Angelo said charmingly. "I just want you to be the best you that you can be, that's all." Which was why he was always correcting her speech, handing her this book and that book to read, staying on Cookie about her diet and exercise and always reminding her to put on her sunscreen. After all, Angelo's mother Diana joked, two dark-skinned people wouldn't look good together.

* * *

Cookie couldn't remember when her relationship with Angelo got physical. Like everything else, it started off subtle. A firm squeeze here, a hard smack on the ass there, a mush upside the head that was a little too stiff. Cookie did all the same things, so she never thought about those red flags that were waving as high as Anika's legs up in the air. About three months into their relationship, Angelo kicked Cookie underneath a table one night after she'd said something he didn't like. Cookie laughed it off and kicked him back, but her stomach twisted into knots when she saw how angry Angelo looked. That night, Cookie took off her pantyhose and a deep, ugly bruise stared back up at her. Cookie shrugged it off and never thought about it again.

The first time Angelo actually hit Cookie was when she fixed him a root beer float that he said had too much root beer in it. They'd been engaged for two weeks by then. "It's a root beer float, Angelo," Cookie pointed out. "How could there be too much root beer in a root beer float?"

"This isn't a float, Cookie. It's root beer with a little ice cream in it. I swear to God...what kind of dumb bitch can't even make a fucking float?"

Cookie bristled at the word _bitch_. It wasn't the first time he'd called her a bitch, but it was the first time he'd used it as an insult. "You won't let my fat ass eat ice cream anymore, remember?" she reminded Angelo sarcastically. "You want a float, go make it yourself. You know where the kitchen is." Cookie's head was hurting from lack of food. It seemed like no matter what she ate or how much weight she lost, Angelo was always nagging her about her weight - this, while Cookie's home cooking was causing Angelo's pants to get a little tighter.

Angelo stood up and poured the dessert right on the floor. "I don't even want one anymore. Fuck it."

It was another Angelo's childish little temper tantrums, but he'd crossed the line this time. _"Clean it up!"_ Cookie screamed, and she slapped Angelo, same as she would've slapped Lucious or anybody else.

Angelo slapped her back, twice as hard. _" **Y**_ ** _ou_** _clean it up!"_

The pain exploded across Cookie's cheek, bent her neck, set her face on fire and sent her sprawling to the floor. In all her life, Cookie had never been slapped across the face before, not even by her foul-tempered mother. Before Cookie could react, Angelo was kneeling next to her, kissing her over and over and apologizing, even crying. It was the election, he said. It was his mother, he said. He was just protecting himself, he said, and why did she make him do these kinds of things? He loved her. He loved her. He _loved_ her. Didn't she know that? And she _had_ hit him first...

The night Angelo first hit Cookie was also the first time Cookie left her body while Angelo made love to her. Angelo grunted and moaned above Cookie, right there on melted ice cream and soda on the floor, not noticing that Cookie was fighting back tears and not reacting to his kisses. The next day, Angelo bought her a brand new coffee table and couch. Cookie loved them, but every time she looked at them, she thought about her stinging face and her back down in the sticky, freezing dessert on the floor.

One good thing came out of the whole ordeal, however: Cookie never made another watery root beer float. She also never ate one again for the rest of her life.

* * *

At that time, Cookie wasn't afraid of Angelo, but embarrassed by the situation she was in. She could just imagine what people would say if they knew that Cookie was with a man who hit her. _Not Cookie Lyon. Cookie would blow his brains out. You know Cookie don't take no shit. She's not **that** stupid._

The most logical suggestion, of course, would be to tell Lucious what was going on. Lucious would shut everything down in no time, Cookie knew. But Cookie didn't want anybody to know what was happening. Cookie Lyon being beaten by her lover? It was unthinkable. Not to mention that this would be the second time Lucious bailed her out of trouble with a shady lover - the first was a Puerto Rican scam artist who was found floating down the Husdon River. _I'm a big girl_ , Cookie thought time and time again. _I can take care of myself._

At first, Cookie always fought back - shove for shove, kick for kick, curse for curse. She was Cookie Lyon, after all, and Cookie Lyon didn't take no shit. But Angelo was quicker and stronger, and he could shut down an argument before it even got started. His shoves sent Cookie's back into walls, his kicks left bruises on her legs and thighs, and his words could break Cookie down to a sobbing mess. _  
_

 _"Put that cheesecake back, fat ass."_  
 _"What kind of cracker jack college gave your dumb ass a master's degree?"  
"I swear to God, Cookie, if you say one more thing to me..."_

In time, _okayokayangelo_ became Cookie's new name. Mispronounced a word at a banquet? _"Okay, okay, Angelo..."_ Got caught eating some ice cream? _"Okay, okay, Angelo..."_ Late to an important dinner with some campaign backers? _"Okay, okay, Angelo..."_ It was exhausting to have to always placate this mama's boy, but it was better than dealing with his constant outbursts.

When Angelo was happy, there wasn't a better boyfriend in the world. He was so kind and supportive, never getting in the way of her business or her dreams. He came to every Empire function. He proudly supported his wife-to-be in public. Any comments about Cookie's time in prison or suggestions that Cookie wasn't good enough for him was subject to Angelo's wrath. More than once, a WOKE employee or volunteer had been fired for speaking ill of the woman Angelo loved. So Cookie did her best to make Angelo happy, and she swallowed the repercussions of his anger without complaint until the night Cookie couldn't take it anymore - and paid a very dear price.

* * *

"Look, I can't do this with you anymore," Cookie finally told Angelo one night after Angelo wouldn't stop berating Cookie because she didn't know what _Sisyphean_ meant. "We're two different people, Angelo. I think we need to just call it quits."

It was the worst thing Cookie could've suggested at the worst possible time. "You're going to leave me?" Angelo asked, his eyes wide. "In the middle of my campaign, you're abandoning me?"

"I'm not abandoning you, Angelo-"

"Yes, you are! When I'm doing my speeches and going places, you're supposed to be by my side! You're my fiancee, goddamn it!"

"You still have my support with your campaign," Cookie assured him. "But we're just not happy together, Angelo. "This marriage would be a mistake, I just feel it. You're miserable, I'm miserable-"

 _"You're_ miserable?" Angelo asked. "For what? I'm not miserable."

"It's just..." Cookie tried to choose her words carefully. She was so sick of having to tiptoe around Angelo's temper. "You have to admit that it hasn't been right between us in a long time. Let's just end this while we're still friends. Okay?" She was half-pleading for Angelo to leave.

"What am I supposed to say when people ask me where my fiancee is, Lori? That we're taking a break? That you're miserable? What about the wedding?"

Every explosion starts with a spark. "Cookie."

"Excuse me?" Angelo asked.

"My name...is _Cookie_ ," Cookie said through clenched teeth. "Cookie Lyon. I hate Lori. Call me Cookie or Loretha or Ms. Lyon or anything else. _Not_ Lori."

"You think you can tell me what to do?" Angelo sprang from the couch and slapped Cookie so fast that it didn't register right away. "I'll call you what I want to call you, and I'm not calling you Cookie."

He'd hit her for the last time as far as Cookie was concerned. "Get out!" Cookie screamed. "I'm through with you! You fucking weak-ass, no stroke-havin' ass punk!" She tore her engagement ring off her finger and flung it at him. " _Get out, Angelo!_ Get the fuck outta my house!"

"Make me, bitch." Angelo picked up the ring and threw it back at her, hitting Cookie dead in the face. He laughed loudly and plopped down on the couch and propped his feet on the table he'd bought her so long ago. "What, you gonna call your baby daddy and tell him to handle it? Gonna call Lucious and tell him to come beat me up? Do it, Cookie. I dare you."

It sounded like a wonderful idea at first. Then Cookie remembered how Lucious had mocked her after Laz's disappearance. "I'ma call the police," Cookie lied. "We'll see what that does to your punk-ass campaign when you get arrested for-"

Angelo was on top of her in an instant, right on top of the couch he'd bought her so long ago. Cookie began to scream, more out of fear than pain. _"Shut up!"_ Angelo yelled, slapping Cookie across the face for good measure. This was unusual - Angelo usually went through great lengths to avoid touching her face. ("I have to look at you all day," he told her once.) "You ain't calling nobody, bitch. And even if you did, nobody's gonna believe you, Cookie. A hoodrat like you against a man with my pedigree and my credentials? You're nothing without me, Cookie. Nothing but a washed up dope-dealing felon sucking your ex's dick so he can throw you a few crumbs from your own business."

"Please," Cookie begged, struggling to breathe. "Please-I can't-"

"I said shut up! Shut the fuck up!" _Whack_ , right across the other side of her face when Cookie couldn't stop crying. "Shut!" _Whack_. Left side. "Up!" _Whack_. Right side. " _Shut up,_ bitch!" Left-right-left with one hand while the other hand remained around Cookie's throat until she finally passed out.

When Cookie came to, Angelo was crying from above like he always did. Somehow, Cookie had been moved - or dragged or pulled or thrown - to the floor. "...my God, Cookie, I am _so_ sorry...so fucking sorry." Angelo was pacing back and forth, his voice hoarse from shouting. "Why do you make me act like this? Huh?" He went to the floor, grabbed Cookie by her shoulders and shook her furiously, like a child who couldn't get his toy to work. "Why do you make me do this?! Why do you bring out the worst in me, Loretha?"

Cookie realized that she was safer playing dead than trying to reason with Angelo. Suddenly, Angelo threw Cookie to the ground. _"Wake up! Get up, you ghetto bitch!"_ he roared and drove a kick to Cookie's ribs. The crack of bone was audible, even over Angelo's voice. "Oh, my God..." Angelo ran for his telephone. "No, no...oh, God..."

Who was he calling? An ambulance? The police? Cookie didn't want Angelo to call anybody. All she wanted was to go to sleep. Andre had broken that rib when Cookie was carrying him, and she knew there was nothing that could be done other than ice and pain-

"Mama?"

 _Of course._ "Mama? Oh, God, I did something bad...it's bad, yeah...it got out of control...it's Cookie. She hit me, Mama, and I was just defending myself...right, and she hit her head. I think I'ma need a lawyer...I know, but I don't know what to do! Okay. Okay, I'm on my way...yeah, I love you, too. I'm coming." There was the jingling of keys and the slamming of her door. Her nose was bleeding, her lip was swollen and her left ear was in excruciating pain, but Cookie was safe at last.

* * *

The next morning, Cookie got dressed and went to work as usual. She even put her engagement ring back on, as Angelo had been so kind as to leave it on the coffee table.

Cookie knew that Angelo would be coming by that morning with roses, just like he always did after they had a fight. The women would _ooh_ and _ahh_ over what a great man Cookie had, and Angelo would follow Cookie to her office to make sure that they were okay - that is, to make sure that Cookie hadn't told anybody about what was going on, which she never did. There was no one to tell it to, and no one would believe her even if she did.

Cookie looked immaculate as she got into her taxi to be driven to work, but her makeup was ruined with tears by the time she got to Empire Enterprises. In her bathroom, Cookie's hands trembled as she tried to redo her makeup. She had to line her eyebrows twice because she couldn't draw a straight line. Trying to use her lipliner was a waste of time. She dropped her foundation once, twice, three times.

The third time, the glass bottle spilled the contents in the sink and splattered all over her dress. "No!" Cookie gasped, watching the makeup go down the drain. Thank God Cookie kept extra dresses in her office. But just like with her face, Cookie's hands were shaking badly and it took forever to unzip the back of her dress and unbuckle her sandals.

Half-naked, Cookie raced into her office for another dress just as Anika walked through the door without knocking, like usual. "Cookie, Angelo's here. He brought you...some..." Anika's voice trailed, and the vase of roses she was holding slipped from her fingers and crashed to the floor. _**"Lucious!"** _ she cried, racing towards the door.

"No! Close the door! _Close the door!"_ Cookie begged.

Anika closed the door – with her inside the room, which wasn't what Cookie meant. "Cookie! Oh, my God...Angelo did that to you, didn't he?" Anika demanded. "He did this and then he brought you these roses to make up for it, just like he always does. Didn't he?"

"Bitch, are you crazy?" Cookie scoffed. "You think _I_ would put up with something like that? I fell."

"Into what - the Grand Canyon?" Anika watched Cookie struggling to remove her dress. "How long has this been going on?" she asked quietly when Cookie didn't answer.

"What did I just tell you-"

"How long has this been going on?" Anika repeated, just as softly. "A month, two months...six months? Since the engagement?"

"Anika..." Cookie faltered in the face of Anika's steely gaze. "Look, you can't tell anybody. _Please_ don't tell anyone. It's not what it looks like."

"It looks like Angelo beat the shit out of you," Anika wasn't being mean, just stating a fact.

"He did _not_ beat the shit out of me," Cookie snapped. "We just-he didn't mean-look, I don't expect you to understand hood love, okay?"

"Hood love?" Anika scoffed. "That man has more money than my family!"

 _"Goddamn_ it, Boo Boo Kitty!" Anika's eyebrows rose at her hated nickname. "Look, you can't tell anybody," Cookie pleaded. "Okay? Just keep your mouth shut. You know that if Lucious finds out..."

"...Lucious will kill him," Anika finished. "Oh, God, Lucious would _kill_ Angelo if he found out about this, wouldn't he? Right here and now."

"You _know_ he will. And I mean for real-for real. He's not gonna give a damn about witnesses or anything. You _know_ that, Anika."

"You're right... _ **Lucious!"**_ Anika yelled again, turning towards the door.

"Stop it! Don't!" Cookie ran forward and shoved Anika into the door with all her might, causing Anika to sprawl to the floor. Cookie threw herself on top of Anika, pressing against Anika's mouth with her hands. "Shut up!" Cookie growled, looking and sounding much like Angelo. "Keep your mouth shut! You hear me, bitch? _Shut up!"_

Anika drove her elbow straight into Cookie's side, which caused Cookie to scream out in pain. If Angelo hadn't broken Cookie's ribs last night, Anika just did. Anika scrambled back to her feet, while Cookie held her side as she struggled to stand. "If you open your mouth – if you tell anybody, I swear to God...look, it's not that serious."

 _"Not that serious?"_ Anika asked, her voice filled with worry."Cookie, you can barely dress yourself. How many things can you bump into in one lifetime, huh? How many allergic reactions can you have in order to explain away the red marks on your face? How many times are you going to call in sick?"

"Shut up, Anika," Cookie said, her voice shaking. How did Anika know so much about her business?

"How many times can you act all happy when he comes by with those roses and weak-ass apologies?" Anika added gently. "Even _I_ know you hate red roses, Cookie. Anybody who loves you should know that you don't like red roses."

"I said shut up, Boo Boo Kitty," Cookie warned.

"Why are you protecting him, Cookie?" Anika asked incredulously. "If Lucious had done this to you, you'd have him killed! Why are you giving Angelo a free pass?"

"I said _shut up!"_ Cookie wanted to grab Anika by her pretty little face, scratch her eyes out with her ghetto nails. _I bet Angelo would never hurt Anika like he hurts me,_ Cookie thought miserably. Anika would be perfect for Angelo. Well-educated, classy and poised. Hell, even Anika's light skin gave her the one-up on Cookie. Cookie hurled a picture frame in Anika's direction. "Shut up, shut up, _shut up!"_

 _"I will not shut up!"_ Anika fired back. "I've been quiet for way too long! It ends today, Cookie. All of this ends today - your relationship, my silence, the abuse, all of it. Starting with your visit to the emergency room-"

 _"What!?"_

"Shut your mouth, you hear me?" Anika threatened. " _Shut your mouth_. You _are_ going to ER, Cookie. You're going to get checked out and we're gonna make sure you're okay. And then you're going to my place up in Staten Island until-hang on."

Anika answered her ringing phone. "Hello? Oh, I'm so sorry! I got distracted. Would you tell Angelo that Cookie isn't here, Porsha? I placed his flowers on Cookie's desk, though...listen, I have to go. I'll see you in a few minutes, I promise." Anika sighed deeply as she hung up the phone. "Come on, Cookie. Let's get you dressed. We need to figure out how to get you out of here without anybody seeing you."

"You can't make me go to ER," Cookie said coldly. "You can't make me go anywhere."

"Oh, yes I can. You know how?" Anika stood inches away from Cookie. "Because if we don't handle this my way, I'm going to tell Lucious and let him handle it _his_ way. And believe me, Cookie, nothing would make me happier than to let Lucious handle things his way." Anika took a moment to let her words sink in. "Now. Do you want to do this peacefully or do you want Angelo to become a weird smell in the Empire basement?"

Defeated, Cookie could only stand still as Anika helped Cookie removed her stained dress. She heard Anika suck in her breath as she took note of all of Cookie's injuries in the light, but she said nothing as she helped Cookie out of one dress and into another. Next, Anika guided Cookie to the bathroom to redo her garish, casket-ready makeup. Years of stage theater combined with her own strict upbringing made Anika a pro at applying makeup. "It won't hold long," Anika warned, "but it'll get you out of here and to the hospital."

"Anika, if it gets out on the news that I'm in ER, Angelo's campaign will be ruined. Please...don't make me go. I'll do anything, please. _Please_ , Anika." Anika gave Cookie a withering stare. "What do you want from me, Anika?" Cookie begged. "An apology? Money? I'll give you money-"

 _"I want you to be safe!_ Don't you get it?!" Anika demanded. "Keep your money and your apologies and everything else and bring my daughter's grandmother back! That's all I want, Cookie. I want _you_ back. Not Angelo's Lori...I want Bella's Cookie back. _Our_ Cookie."

Anika would discuss the matter no further. "Does Angelo know I'm here?" Cookie asked tearfully.

"I told him I hadn't seen you, but that I would try to find you." An unreadable look crossed Cookie's face. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's just...well, the two seem to get along so well," Cookie said.

"Are you kidding?" Anika scoffed. "I _hate_ that bastard. I only got close to him to see if I could figure out what was going on with you. Now, listen to me. Do you you where the stairwell of the executive exit is? The one that goes down to the hidden parking lot?" Cookie nodded. "Go there and wait for me. I need to go downstairs and show my face. Quickly, now."

"But Anika-"

"No questions, Cookie. No time." Anika was on her phone once again. "Just go. Meet me downstairs, and I'll take you to my driver."

"I don't have a key to that door!"

"You don't have a key to...you're the goddamned co-CEO and you don't have a key to the executive gate!?"

"You're the goddamned head of A&R! You don't have a key?"

"I do, Cookie, but I'll be _downstairs_ when..." Anika's voice trailed.

"When what?" Cookie prompted.

Anika pursed her lips tightly. "Never mind. Just go to the door and wait anyway. I'll unlock it in a few minutes."

"From inside?" Cookie asked, but she was talking to Anika's back. "Just go to the door!" she yelled over her shoulder as she dashed away.

Every step Cookie took hurt like hell, but Anika was right - her makeup application hid the bruises and cuts on Cookie's face, at least for now. As long as Cookie smiled and kept her head low, nobody gave her a passing look. Cookie nearly vomited when she saw Angelo in the foyer, smiling and flirting with Anika as usual. Anika said she didn't like Angelo, but seeing them...they just seemed so natural together. _So right._

Cookie made it to the boardroom, through the doors and around the corner to the door that led to the hidden parking lot. Since one needed fingerprint access to get into the boardroom, very few people had access to the hidden lot. Nobody noticed as Cookie went inside the boardroom and around the corner to wait for Anika. Every second ticking by was agony for Cookie. What was she thinking, following this little debutante around the place? Who was Anika to tell her what to do?

Loud, sirens cut through the air and through Cookie's thoughts. _Fire!_ A fire alarm screamed in every room, every studio, every hall and floor of the Empire Enterprises. Just minutes after the bells rang out, fire trucks roared down the streets to the building, adding to the chaos inside the building. While fire fighters raced from room to room in order to find the source of the fire, all of the Empire employees pushed their way down the stairs and down the halls in order to get to safety.

Anika said for Cookie to meet her here at the executive door, but now there was a fire drill, at the very least, if not worse. What to do? If Cookie went out the front way, she would run into Angelo. But if she stayed here, she could very well lose her , Cookie turned and fled back into the boardroom, where she ran right into Anika. "Cookie, what are you doing!?" Anika gasped. "Open the door! Go, go! Let's _go!"_

* * *

As it turned out, all of the fire alarms unlocked all the doors in the building, including the executive gates. In the parking lot, Anika half-walked, half-dragged Cookie to a driver waiting to take Cookie to Staten Island University Hospital, where he would wait until Cookie's examination and diagnosis was complete. From there, he would drive Cookie to Anika's private brownstone in the same borough, a place that even Lucious didn't know about. "I just went grocery shopping last week. There's plenty of food in there, clean clothes, a whirlpool...whatever you need."

Anika and Cookie quickened their steps, heads down and mouths covered. Cameras were all over the parking lot. They'd escaped through the executive elevator and stairwell, which was accessible to very few people. But that didn't mean that they hadn't been seen.

Cookie tried to listen as Anika talked, but the alarms were giving her a terrible headache. She was in so much pain that all Cookie wanted to do was lie down and go to sleep. But Anika's ER visit suggestion wasn't a suggestion at all. It was an order. _"I_ f we don't handle this my way, I'm going to tell Lucious and let him handle it his way."Just thinking about Lucious's way made Cookie tremble. He would never understand what happened last night. _It wasn't that big a deal, Lucious, things just got out of hand, that's all..._

Anika saw the pain and uncertainty in Cookie's eyes as they stopped in front of the nondescript Toyota Corolla, one with tinted windows. "I broke off my engagement with Angelo last night," she told Anika. "That's why...that's why he did this."

"That's good, Cookie. I'm glad you came to your senses." Anika took Cookie's hands and squeezed them. "Cookie, we're going to get through this. I promise. Step by step, we'll figure it all out. But the first step is to get you out of here and examined by a doctor. Then you'll go to my place until we get your locks changed-"

"My locks?"

"Don't worry, I'm not calling a local locksmith. Angelo probably has half of New York on his payroll. I got a guy of my own. One who's out of town." Anika chuckled dryly. "Knowing him, he'll put in infrared cameras and Kevlar lining. He'll want to turn the place into-"

"-an impenetrable fortress," Cookie finished. The familiar sentence made Cookie even more numb than she already was.

An awkward silence followed. "I was going to tell you, Cookie," Anika said. "Whenever the time was right."

"Guess it was hard to find time in-between me getting my ass kicked." Cookie felt her chest growing tight. "He's a wonderful man, Anika. Don't...don't blow it like I did, okay?"

"I won't," Anika said shortly. She knocked on the driver's car window. "Do not take her _anywhere_ except to the hospital, and don't you leave her for a second, do you hear me? Then take her right to my place. Do not let her out of your sight." Anika knocked on the window again, and the driver let it back up.

It was hard not to feel kidnapped. "Why are you doing all this?" Cookie asked Anika warily as she got into the backseat.

"Because you're the blood of my blood," Anika answered. "And because you would do it for me." She closed the car door behind her and left without another word.

Anika had a point. She might not have liked Cookie, and Lord knew the feeling was mutual. But just as Cookie had been by Anika's side during her miscarriage scare (and again when Anika nearly committed suicide), Cookie knew that nothing on earth would make Anika abandon her, just like Cookie would never abandon Anika at a time like this. _Blood of my blood_ , Anika had called her, and nothing could be truer. But Anika was wrong when she said that Cookie would do the same for Anika as Anika was doing for Cookie. If their situations were reversed, no one - not Anika nor Lucious nor Jesus Christ himself - would have stopped Cookie from slitting Angelo's throat.

TBC


	2. Snitch Bitch

"Angelo!" Anika called out in the Empire lobby as everyone filed back inside.

"Anika!" Angelo rushed over to Anika. "Are you okay? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," Anika convinced Angelo. "False alarm. Uh, look." Anika took Angelo by the hand and looked around nervously. "Can you meet me at Yuzu on Lenox in about 20 minutes?"

"Sure...everything okay, Anika?" Angelo took Anika around the waist and pulled her close. "Something I can do?"

"I can't talk about it here. Lucious is here and I don't want anyone to know-"

"Lucious?" Angelo looked around nervously. "What about Lucious?"

"I'll explain everything as soon as we get to Yuzu." Anika dared to give Angelo a kiss on the cheek and prayed it wouldn't get back to Lucious. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Angelo's eyes lit up. "Most definitely." Obviously, he wasn't thinking about fires or fiancees or anything else.

Anika's mind was racing a million miles a minute on the way to Yuzu. Her top priority was accomplished: Cookie was safe and getting medical care. There was the small problem of alerting Lucious to the day's events, but Anika didn't even want to think about that just yet.

Angelo was already at Yuzu's when Anika showed up. She gave him another kiss this time, closer to his mouth, and let her scent linger there. Angelo held her close for a little longer than necessary, stroking his hands up and down her waist. Anika tried not to vomit. "I have to get back to work soon before I'm missed, so I'll get to the point." Anika tried to look as concerned as she could. "Cookie was at Empire when the alarms were going off. She pulled them. Cookie needed to get Lucious alone just for a couple of minutes. Angelo..." Anika took a ragged breath. "Cookie told Lucious that she broke off her engagement with you and you beat her up for it."

"What!?" Fear washed over Angelo's face, which he tried to mask as concern. "Why would Cookie say something like that? I would never hit a woman!"

"I don't know, Angelo," Anika said, wide-eyed and full of fake concern. "I don't know why Cookie would tell such an obvious lie. Everybody knows you would never do that to a woman, let alone Cookie."

"Damn right," Angelo said, not very convincingly. "I mean, Cookie's right about us breaking up, except I broke up with her, not the other way around. We're just too different and it wasn't working out. But she promised that she would still support my campaign, so I thought we were still on good terms. And now she's telling Lucious this...why? Does she want me killed or something?"

"I don't know, Angelo." Anika took Angelo's hands in hers. "I don't know why I'm telling you this...I guess I just feel like you need to know the kind of woman you're dealing with. The _real_ Cookie, not the Cookie you know. And you're such a great guy that I would hate to see something happen to you over Cookie's lies." Anika lowered her voice. "Angelo, you've got to get out of town, at least for the weekend. Let me talk to Lucious. Get him to calm down and see reason."

"You really think that's the best thing to do?" Angelo asked. "Maybe I should go talk to Lucious myself."

"No, let me talk to him. I know that once he cools down, he'll know that Cookie is just using him to lash out at you. One thing Lucious doesn't take kindly to is being played for a fool. But just in case I don't do it quickly enough, you should go on a vacation." Anika flashed Angelo a seductive smile. "Maybe I can even join you, wherever you go...just for the weekend, maybe? We could get to know each other better..."

"I don't know about all that, Anika." Angelo squeezed Anika's hands, then drew his own hands back. "I mean, you're Lucious's wife. And I still care about Cookie very much-"

"Angelo." Anika leaned closer to Angelo and cupped his face in her right hand. "In the future, when the people of New York call you mayor..." Anika traced Angelo's lips with her finger. "Governor..." She dragged her finger down his neck. "Senator..." Down his chest, and Angelo's lips parted slightly as he began to breathe through his mouth. "...do you want a woman with class, education and culture by your side?" Anika slowly slid her hand to Angelo's belt buckle. "Or do you want an ex-felon that goes by the name _Cookie_?"

Angelo thought it over. "Cookie's done enough for you," Anika urged, moving her hand back up to his lips. "It's time to take your campaign to a new level. Once my divorce with Lucious goes through, I can help you move to that next level. That is," she whispered in Angelo's ear as her kissed Anika's fingertips, _"if you want me..."_

Angelo's eyes raked Anika up and down her body. Than he smiled and licked his lips. "I know just the place we could meet up this weekend," he informed her.

Anika smiled back. "Just tell me where I need to be."

* * *

Talking to Lucious was out, at least for now. Anika made Angelo promise to text her once he was out of town. He promised that he would leave right away. "As soon as you can," Anika cooed, sitting in his Mercedes and trying to dodge too many of his kisses. "I want to see you as soon as possible, Angelo. I mean it."

There were a number of text messages for Anika, including from Lucious, who was wondering where the hell she was. Anika had no choice but to go back to work; there was no way that Anika and Cookie could be missing without Lucious getting suspicious. But Anika wasn't worried about Lucious just now. There were only two messages she was waiting for.

The first, praise God, was from Cookie. Anika had demanded that Cookie text her with proof that she was actually at the hospital. _My word isn't good enuff?_ Cookie asked. Anika's response was succinct.

Anika's biggest fear was that Cookie would bail from the hospital or that she would get in touch with Angelo and tell her where she would be. Anika still didn't know if Cookie was going to break down and tell Angelo where she was, which would give him the address to Anika's secret apartment. She prayed that she had turned Angelo off to Cookie so that he wouldn't contact her. Anika's fears were eased when Cookie sent her a picture of herself hooked up to an IV drip. _If this isn't good enuff,_ Cookie added, _go 2 Hell._

It was good enough, but it made Anika scared all over again. Cookie was just going in for a checkup - why in the world would they put her on an IV drip? All sorts of ideas ran through Anika's head, and she could barely concentrate on her work. It was vital that she kept it together, however, for Cookie's sake as well as her own.

About an hour before lunch, another text came. It was from a contact merely marked OPA with a Washington, D.C. phone number. The response to Anika's rambling, pleading voicemail for help with Cookie's security was very short: _I'm on my way._ "That fast?" Anika said out loud, and she had to smile. She didn't know why she was so surprised. Maybe after being Lucious's woman for so long, she wasn't used to a man who said he would do something and then actually did it.

* * *

Just as she thought, Cookie's rib was broken, but that wasn't the worst news. Sitting on Anika's couch and drinking hot tea, Cookie read the words on her discharge papers over and over, as if they would magically change: _Multiple contusions, lacerations and bruising. Perforated left eardrum. 103 pounds (underweight). Extreme dehydration. Severe anemia. Chlamydia._

"That's can't be right," Cookie said, shaking her head furiously at the news that she had a sexually transmitted disease. "I always used protection. Every time. I swear, I never had sex without a condom since I got divorced. Never!"

"There's been an uptick in chlamydia diagnoses lately," Dr. Janet McMannon, informed Cookie. "Have you ever heard of stealthing?"

"No...what's that?"

"It's when a male sexual partner removes his condom in order to have unprotected sex without the other partner's knowledge. Is there any chance this happened to you?"

It _had_ happened, twice. Once, Angelo claimed that the condom broke; another time, he apologized and said he'd forgotten to put the condom on. Those were just the two times Cookie knew about. Had there been others? "You have every right to be upset or angry, Ms. Lyon. This type of rape can be just as traumatic as-"

"I wasn't raped," Cookie said quickly. "I just didn't know what was happening, that's all."

"Stealthing _is_ a form of rape," Dr. McMannon corrected. "Just because you consented to have sex with your partner doesn't mean you consented to have sex without a condom."

"I wasn't raped," Cookie repeated stubbornly. Rape was something that happened to other women, not women like Cookie. Cookie was tough. Street. Street girls didn't let themselves get raped - only stupid sidewalk girls who wore tight clothes and drank too much.

"All right, you weren't raped," the doctor acquiesced. "And according to your triage report, you broke your ribs by..." She flipped through the paperwork Cookie had filled out. "...falling down the stairs."

"Yes." No matter how many times the hospital workers encouraged Cookie to come clean about her injuries and told her that there were plenty of places for her to get help, Cookie's story didn't change: _"I fell down the stairs."_

Compassionate woman that she was, Anika texted Cookie demanding proof that she'd actually made it to the hospital. Cookie couldn't blame her. Anika was taking a hell of a risk, not only with sending Cookie to her private hideout, but trusting that Cookie wouldn't tell Lucious or Angelo the address. Lucky for Anika, Cookie didn't want to see anybody anyway. All she wanted was a hot bath and a bed to sleep in.

The ER doctors had given Cookie plenty of medical swag - antibiotics for her STD, an ice pack and Epsom salt for her ribs and painkillers for everything else. A hot bath with Epsom salts did wonders for Cookie's aching body, though she eschewed the Vicodin for now since it required food. Food, food, food. Anika had mentioned that she'd bought groceries, but it turned out that her idea of food was a bunch of low-fat frozen dinners, raw vegetables, Caribbean pastries and cans of soup. Anika was a lot of things, but a good cook was not one of them.

As Cookie rummaged around for a can opener for a bowl of steak and potato soup, the doorbell rang. "Who is it!?" Cookie yelled, forgetting that nobody was supposed to know she was there.

 _"Lunch delivery for Cookie Lyon,"_ called a voice from the other side.

Anika had ordered some homestyle soul food for Cookie to eat. Anika had no idea what Cookie ate, so she asked for a sampler. Brisket, hot sausage links, cornbread, peach cobbler, banana pudding, mac and cheese - just about everything Cookie had been forbidden to eat for months was steaming in front of Cookie's face, begging to be consumed.

 _I'll just have a couple of bites,_ Cookie thought. _Just so I can take my meds._ Cookie meant to save at least half of the food for Anika, but the mac and cheese didn't see the sun, and the brisket barely touched Cookie's fork before it disappeared. In the middle of her feast, Cookie was hit with horrible pains in her abdomen. She barely made it to the toilet in time, and Cookie's bowels rampaged for over half an hour. Now Cookie had to worry about breaking Anika's commode on top of everything else.

Right on time, Anika leaned against the bathroom doorway. Cookie hadn't heard her come in. "You okay?" Anika asked, ignoring the stench in the air.

Anika was great for asking stupid questions from time to time. "Close the door," Cookie mumbled.

"I have to talk to you, Cookie," Anika said firmly. "Be quick, please."

"Will you _please_ close the door so I can wipe my ass?" Cookie snapped. "Or do you need to watch me do that, too?"

"Whatever. Just hurry up." Anika didn't sound all that compassionate, but she had more on her mind than Cookie's toilet troubles.

As Cookie ran a fresh bath, she forced herself to look into the mirror for the first time in months. The post-prison body Cookie had worked so hard to get back in shape was not just thin, but frail. Cookie's skin was dull, her eyes lifeless, and the worry lines around Cookie's mouth and on her forehead were deep.

The tapestry of black, blue, red and purple marks all over Cookie's body filled her with disgustThe bright red marks from Angelo's hand were darker now, and there was a small, dark bruise underneath her left eye that neither Cookie nor Anika had seen at the time. It had definitely come from Angelo's class ring.

Another spasm hit Cookie all over again, and she raced to sit back down. Between the pain in her stomach and the pain in her ribs, all Cookie could do was sit on the toilet and cry.

* * *

It took about an hour for Cookie stomach to calm down and to take another bath before she finally came out of the bathroom, wrapped in Anika's bathrobe and slippers. Anika was sitting on the couch typing as if it was just another day. She speared a hot link with her fork and held it up in the air. "Hungry?"

Cookie scowled at Anika. "You know, I could've gotten food poisoning from that stuff."

"I'll take my chances." Obviously, Cookie had gotten sick because she hadn't had such a good meal in such a long time, but Anika, doctor's daughter that she was, didn't point that out. Whatever soft moments they'd shared a couple of hours ago were gone now. "Cookie, I don't know how to say this, so I'm going to just say it." Anika waved at the couch in front of her. "Sit down, please."

"I'm fine." It was in Cookie's nature to be ornery. Anika could've told her not to touch a hot stove and Cookie would've grabbed it with both hands.

"Fine." Anika gritted her teeth. She promised herself that she was going to be unapologetic with her words, but that was before coming under Cookie's famous glare. "Cookie...I'm going to have to tell Lucious what's going on-"

 _"What?"_ All the blood ran from Cookie's face. "No! You can't!"

"Cookie, I have to. Try to understand where I'm coming from. Just listen to me-"

"I trusted you!" Cookie began to pace, fighting back tears. "I did what you said! You said if I went to the hospital, you wouldn't tell Lucious!"

"No, I didn't, Cookie," Anika said gently. "That's what you heard me say. I said we could handle things my way or we could handle things Lucious's way. My way involves telling Lucious..but I had to wait until you got help, Cookie. If I told you I planned to tell Lucious, you never would've gone to the hospital."

"Why!?" Cookie wailed. "Why would you tell Lucious, Anika? Why would you do this to me!?"

"Because this is something I think he needs to know," Anika said gently. "I promise, Cookie, I'm not going to tell anybody else. Just Lucious. And I know Lucious would never tell anyone."

"You-you can't do this, Anika. Please," Cookie begged. "Lucious going to kill Angelo, Anika. You know he will...and then there's Angelo's campaign..."

"That's not my concern, Cookie," Anika said. "Your health and your safety is my concern. If this messes up Angelo's campaign, so be it. A man like him shouldn't be mayor, anyway."

"I _knew_ I should've never trusted you. I'm going home." Cookie looked around for her clothes. She'd meant to wash them, but there was no time now. "I'll bring you back your robe on Monday, you fucking snitch," Cookie snapped. Something came over Cookie just then. _"You ain't nothing but a snitch, bitch/snitchin' ass bitch..."_

"Grow up, Cookie." Anika waved her hand. "How long do you think you can keep this from Lucious, anyway? What, you gonna take some more time off work while your eye heals up?"

It was as if Anika had elbowed Cookie in the ribs again. _"Snitch bitch, snitchin' ass bitch..."_ Cookie taunted. In the face of powerlessness, Cookie went for her usual weapon against Anika: pettiness. _"And you know it, and you know it..."_

"Cookie, close your mouth," Anika ordered. "You are _not_ going to disrespect me in my own place."

 _"You ain't nothing but a snitch, bitch,"_ Cookie sang even louder. _"A snitchin' ass bitch..."_

"Cookie, stop it!" Anika fought back her own tears. Why did Cookie have to be like this when all Anika wanted was to help?

 _"SNITCH! BITCH! SNITCHIN' ASS_ **BITCH!'** Cookie screamed, knowing she was wrong with every word but unable to stop. _"And you know it! And you...know...it..."_

Out of energy, Cookie slumped on the couch next to Anika's loveseat and cried. She hated Anika. Hated her with every bone in her body, broken or otherwise. Cookie hated Anika for dragging her to the hospital, for changing her locks so she couldn't go home, hated her for telling Lucious about Angelo. Most of all, she hated Anika for caring.

Anika moved from the loveseat and onto the sofa. Cookie blocked Anika from touching her, and Anika tried not to take it personal. "Cookie, listen to reason, please. What do you think Lucious is going to do if he finds out that I knew and I didn't say anything? Huh? Do you think he's going to say _'it's okay, Anika, I understand you didn't want to be a snitch'_?" Cookie knew Anika was right, but she didn't want to admit it just yet. "It's not fair, Cookie, for you to expect me to keep this from my own husband. It's not fair to me or to Lucious. You can't keep hiding from him, and I can't lie to him about this much longer."

"But...but what about Angelo?" Cookie asked, fighting back her tears.

"What _about_ Angelo?"

Cookie shook her head. "He's going to be so mad at me..." she muttered without thinking.

"So?" Anika scoffed. Cookie looked away, then absentmindedly reached for her phone. "Are you checking for messages from him?" she asked, stunned. "Cookie, you're not going to try to make this work with him, are you?" Cookie didn't answer. "Cookie, are you _serious!?"_

"No!" Cookie answered back, far too quickly. "I'm just-I'm making sure he didn't call me-"

"Oh, sure you are, Cookie. I can't believe you!" Anika put her leftovers in the refrigerator and washed her plate. "But speaking of Angelo, you know he left town, right?"

"What? For what?" Cookie's eyes narrowed.

"Well, according to Angelo, he broke off your engagement and you got mad and beat him up." Cookie's jaw dropped. "And now he is afraid you are going to tell Lucious that he beat you up."

"How...how do you know all this?" Cookie asked weakly.

"He told me over sushi after the fire alarms when I got back from dropping you off with my driver." Anika said, a smirk spreading across her face. "Oh, and he also gave me the address of where he's going to be. You know...just in case I want to join him. So you keep that in mind while you're checking your messages."

Cookie was crying and Anika knew it, but she was too angry with her to care. "Do you have to go talk to Lucious right now?" Cookie whimpered as Anika reached for her coat and keys.

Anika had no intentions of talking to Lucious that night, but she didn't let on. "I haven't decided," she said coldly. "Depends on how I feel when I go get Bella."

"Bella?" Cookie asked, her voice beginning to shake. "You're bringing Bella _here?"_

"Yes, I'm bringing my daughter to my house. What, you don't want to see your own granddaughter?"

"I don't..." Cookie's voice began to crack. "I don't want her to see me like this," she said, and the tears Cookie had been holding back began to fall freely.

Earlier in the day, Anika would've reached out to Cookie, held her hand and told her everything would be okay. At this point, Anika was too tired to care about Cookie's emotions, not when Cookie didn't even care about her own safety. "You better go ahead and see her now, Cookie," Anika said cruelly. "Because if you keep messing around with Angelo, there could come a time when you won't be here to ever see her again."

"How could you _say_ a thing like that?" Cookie whispered, horrified.

"How do you think this ends, Cookie?" Anika asked wearily. "Do you think there's going to come a time when Angelo says _'wow, I need to stop hitting Cookie and go get some help for my anger issues'_?"

"He might!" Cookie stammered, but her voice faltered.

"He's not going to change, Cookie," Anika said, trying to be kinder. "Either you leave or you die. That's how these kinds of relationships work. Yours isn't any different or any more special, sweetheart. And if you're not going to leave, I guess Bella isn't going to have a grandmother much longer. So you might as well spend time with her now."

Cookie sat on the couch and buried her head in her hands. "I hate you," she whispered, utterly defeated.

"Yeah, well..." Anika shrugged. "Maybe if I slapped you around, you'd like me more."

Cookie glared up with Anika with hate-filled eyes. "Go get Bella if you want to. I won't be here when you get back," she informed Anika. "I'm going home. I'm finished trusting you. And you can't make me stay here."

Anika put her coat on. "Fine, go. Just know that your house key isn't going to work."

 _Damn it...my locks._ "Oh, yeah. That's right...your new little boytoy is on it now." Cookie smirked. "I wonder if he's doing all this for you...or for me?"

"Go to Hell," Anika slammed the door behind her, not telling Cookie that she was wondering the same thing.

* * *

The good Lord was smiling on Anika when she returned home to the Lyon estate. Lucious had gone out on a double date with Thirsty, allowing Anika to dip in, grab Bella and dip right back out. By then, Anika felt terrible about what she had said to Cookie. Nothing she had said was a lie, but Anika knew she could've been much more compassionate about it all. Cookie still loved Angelo, and that made sense - one didn't just turn emotions on and off. And yes, Angelo could certainly be a wonderful man. It made sense for Cookie to miss him, even with everything that had happened.

It was pitch black and church quiet when Anika and Bella entered her apartment. Bella was sound asleep in her car seat, so Anika placed her daughter in her bassinet. No need to wake her up for no reason - Cookie could see her (or not see her) in the morning.

Setting down her keys and purse, Anika's eyes were glued to a stack of papers on the coffee table in the living room. _Cookie's discharge papers,_ Anika thought. It wasn't Anika's place to read them, she knew, but she realized that the two of them had never discussed her hospital visit. That was another thing Anika had done wrong: just attacked Cookie out of nowhere. _I didn't even ask her how it went,_ Anika thought sadly.

Anika's heart dropped as she read all of Cookie's maladies. "103 pounds?" Anika whispered, horrified. Anyone could see that Cookie had lost weight, but Anika had no idea it was that much weight. The dehydration explained Cookie's diarrhea, while the anemia - although scary - was manageable. "He busted her eardrum," Anika said tearfully, and the last words brought Anika to tears. _Stealthing?_ Cookie had written at the bottom of the page.

"I should've kept my mouth shut," Anika said out loud. "I should've let Lucious handle this... _bastard!_ " Anika flung the papers down in anger when something else caught her eye: two medication bottles, one full of pills, the other one empty. Anika picked up the empty bottle. _Acetaminophen/Hydrocodone 10-325. "_ One to two tablets every 4-6 hours as needed," Anika read out loud. 30 pills prescribed. Yet Anika was holding an empty bottle.

 _Cookie._

Anika didn't stay in her apartment very much, so she tripped over nearly every object in the house as flung on all the night and yelled Cookie's name. She got confused and turned around, even turning on Bella's nursery light. Cookie...Cookie...Anika assumed she would be in the master bedroom, but she wasn't. Rather, Cookie had taken the smallest, sparsest room in the place. "Cookie? Cookie!" Anika yelled. Cookie, face down in her pillow, didn't move a muscle.

 ** _"Cookie! No!"_ ** It was the second time in less than 24 hours that Cookie had been so roughly grabbed, slapped and manhandled. Cookie's head lolled to the side, and the white residue around her lips made Anika scream all over again. "Cookie! Wake up!" Anika slapped Cookie's cheeks face over and over, but Cookie remained unmoving. " _Cookie!_ Oh, my God...Cookie, please!" Anika rolled Cookie on her back. "Cookie, how many did you take? Oh, God, please wake up! Please, Cookie! _Wake up!"_

"Huh?" Cookie shot up straight as an arrow and looked around. "Whuh-what are you doing? Stop." She waved Anika away. "Stop it. What's wrong with you, Boo Boo Kitty?"

"Cookie!" Anika grabbed Cookie by the shoulders. "Cookie, how many pills did you take? Tell me now. How many?"

"Pills?" Cookie sat up groggily."What pills?"

"The Vicodin, Cookie!" Anika shouted. "It's all gone! You took it all!"

"No, I didn't," Cookie denied. "I didn't like how they made me feel, so I flushed the rest of them."

Anika sank to her haunches; her legs were shaking so badly that she could no longer stand. "But-but what's that white stuff on your face?"

"What white stuff?"

Cookie's echo imitation was driving Anika crazy. "The _powder_ , Cookie! Go look in the mirror!" Anika shouted from the floor. "That white stuff around your lips! _What is it!?"_

Cookie stood up, wobbling on shaky legs and walked to the mirror. "Oh," she said sheepishly. "I ate your coconut cookies."

Anika stared at Cookie for the longest time. "Coconut cookies."

"Yeah." Cookie looked around, then pointed to a napkin next to a lamp with some powdered sugar. "What, you don't believe me?"

Anika shook her head slowly, taking deep breaths to calm herself. "Coconut cookies..." she said again. "You ate...cookies?"

"Jesus Chris...chill, Anika. I'm fine." Inspired, Cookie grabbed Anika, hoisted her up to her feet and kissed her long and deep. "Believe me now?" she laughed as she pushed Anika to the floor, her mouth covered with powdered sugar. She was in much better spirits. "Now, where's my grandbaby at?"

Cookie was more acclimated to Anika's apartment, and the fact that the lights were all on helped. Taking a guess, Cookie figured that Bella was sleeping in the bedroom closest to the door. "There's my Bella," Cookie whispered, picking up the sleeping child from her simple, but cozy, crib in her simple, but cozy nursery. Bella didn't stir, and Cookie kissed her with bruised lips and over and over as she laid her grandchild on her shoulder. Anika was right. Angelo wasn't going to change. He'd only changed for the worst since they got together, and the lies he'd told Anika to cover his own suggested that he would never change for the better.

In the morning, Bella would wake up to see her grandmother with a mark under her eye, busted lips and bruises all over her body. There was nothing Cookie could do about that. But she could draw strength from this little baby in her arms to make sure that Bella would never see Cookie like this again. "I'm not going to let him take me from you," Cookie promised Bella. "I promise."

Bella stirred at the sound of her grandmother's voice, then snuggled against her neck and fell peacefully back to sleep. The silence in the nursery was juxtaposed with the sound of screaming coming from the back of the apartment. "Anika!" Cookie called. With Bella firmly in her arms, Cookie dashed back to find Anika on the bed, half-hysterical. "Anika!" Cookie sat Bella down on the plush leather chair in the room sat down next to Anika, who was sobbing openly. "Anika, what happened?"

"I thought you were dead!" Anika grabbed Cookie by her shoulders and shook her again, something that Cookie was getting a little sick of. "I thought you were _dead_ , Cookie! All the pills were gone, and you wouldn't answer when I said your name, and-and-and I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't wake up, Cookie! _You wouldn't wake up!"_ Anika was talking so fast that her island accent began to push through, making her hard to understand. "I thought you were dead, Cookie...I thought you were _dead_..."

"Oh, Anika. No. No, I would never do that." Cookie cupped Anika's face into her hands and looked straight into her tear-filled eyes. "I promise I would never do that to you."

Bella began to cry; she'd woken up at last. "I just-wanted-to help," Anika choked out between her tears as she held her daughter close. "I...I don't know-what to do-to make things better..." Anika wouldn't stop shaking, and she was crying so hard that she was beginning to hiccup. "C'mere, Anika," Cookie soothed. "Come here...come here."

In that king-sized bed, Cookie held Anika in her arms and let her cry until she couldn't cry anymore. If the day had been hardest for Cookie, it hadn't been easy for Anika, either. Coming across a battered and beaten Cookie, getting Angelo out of town, wrestling with whether she would talk to Lucious, not to mention Cookie's thankless behavior. "You've already made things better. You hear me?" Cookie stroked Anika's hair as Anika cradled Bella in her arms. "You got me away from Angelo. You're keeping me safe. You brought me my granddaughter." She tilted Anika's head upward. "You helped me put my priorities back in order, Anika. You helped me remember what is important."

Anika nodded. "I didn't see Lucious tonight," she told Cookie.

"I'll talk to him in the morning, Anika. You're right. It's not fair for me to tell you to hold that from him."

"No, I should do it," Anika insisted. "Let me talk to him. Get him prepared for your injuries and stuff."

"Yeah, you're right," Cookie agreed. She hated the thought of Lucious having to see her like this even worse than Bella. He wasn't going to take it well - that, they both knew. "Like I told you, all the pills are gone except the two I already took. Come to think of it..." Cookie thought it over. "I don't remember eating your cookies, to be honest. I'll buy you some new ones. And I'll buy you a new robe, too."

"Cookie, I'll buy you all the cookies you want as long as you promise you won't go back to Angelo." Anika looked up at Cookie with red, swollen eyes. "If you ever think about going back to him, will you think about my daughter? Your granddaughter? Please, Cookie?"

Cookie kissed the top of Anika's head. "I promise, blood of my blood. Go to sleep."

It was a miracle that Cookie managed to fall asleep, Vicodin or no Vicodin, since Bella was lying on Cookie's broken ribs, while Anika's head rested on the choke marks on Cookie's clavicle. Yet nestled between Bella and Anika, Cookie hadn't felt so safe and secure in a long, long time.

TBC


	3. Thug Lovin'

_Note: trigger warnings for depictions of rape and domestic violence._

* * *

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, rise and greet Mr. and Mrs. Angelo DuBois!"_

In the ball of the state capital, the mayor of New York danced at his inauguration with his new wife, Loretha "Lori" DuBois. She was dressed in a cream-colored gown with a beautiful four-karat pink diamond ring on her finger, held by a platinum band, while he was so handsome in his wedding tuxedo. From the streets of Philadelphia to a drug-pushing felon to the First Lady of New York. "I could watch you dance all night," Cookie complimented at her handsome husband, New York's newest mayor, soon to be governor, or so everybody said.

"Hmm, sounds nice," Angelo agreed, beaming down at his new wife. "I'd love to watch you move all day, too. But as Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, _'"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.'"_

"That's beautiful, Angelo," Cookie complimented. "Who is Antoine Saint Exuper...Express...whoever you just said?"

"Exupery," Angelo corrected. "Antoine de Saint-Exupery? He wrote The Little Prince. Haven't you read it before?"

"No, never heard of it."

"It's a children's book, for Christ's sake." Something in Angelo's voice made Cookie grow tense. "I know you dropped out of school and everything, but how dumb do you have to be to not know Antoine de Saint-Exupery?"

"Okay, okay, Angelo!" Cookie playfully put two fingers over Angelo's lips. "Tell the world I dropped out of school, why don't you?"

"I don't have to tell anybody," Angelo said, exasperated with his wife's ignorance. "Anybody can see how stupid you are the minute you open your mouth."

"I wasn't too stupid to get my master's degree when I was at Danbury," Cookie fired back. "Last I checked, you only have a bachelor's-"

Angelo cut Cookie off with a backhand across her face, and he was on her in a heartbeat. All around her, the floor grew cold, and Cookie could smell the sickening scent of vanilla and root beer. "My dress!" Cookie cried, and she struggled to get up. Angelo shoved Cookie back down in that sticky, syrupy sweet ice cream, mumbling how he was sorry and undoing his belt buckle, oblivious to everybody in the ballroom.

"Angelo! _Stop!"_ The wedding guests were gathering around them in a circle, whispering and pointing at Cookie while Cookie tried as hard as she could to cover up her body and her bruises and her shame. When she couldn't, Cookie did what she always did when Angelo had these kinds of moments: bit her lip, closed her eyes and held back her tears as Angelo thrust himself inside of her harder and harder. It hurt and it was sticky and cold and she didn't want this, God, she didn't want this, but it wouldn't matter. Angelo stopped listening to her a long time ago.

 _"Loretha, wipe that up. Don't want to get ants, baby girl."_

The warning came too late. The ants were already crawling all over Cookie's body. They bore into her eyes and her ears and ate Cookie from the inside out. Cookie opened her mouth to scream, but the ants crawled into her mouth, choking her. Then it wasn't the ants choking her, but Angelo's hand around her throat with one hand as he slapped her with the other. Left, right, left. Cookie's face rock back and forth until her ear popped.

 _Daddy!_ Cookie screamed in her mind, for it was the only way she could. _Daddy, help me!_ Cookie tried to crawl away from Angelo, slipping on the ice cream and soda on the floor and the gawkers still standing around them. A hard kick to her side stopped Cookie, and the sound of bones cracking filled the room, even above the sound of the music and the gossiping and Angelo's voice calling her every foul thing one could imagine.

 _"Shut up! Shut up!"_ Angelo screamed as Cookie's voice finally cut through the air. The crippling pain and the ruthless ants were so intense that Cookie couldn't stop screaming, over and over until Cookie bolted upright in Anika's bed and squinted into the morning sun, her cries for her father still echoing around the empty room.

* * *

"Uh-oh," Lucious laughed on Saturday morning when Anika walked through his office door with food and drink in hand. " What do you want?"

"I can't just come and bring you some breakfast on my morning off?" Anika greeted Lucious with a kiss on the cheek.

"Is it poisoned?"

"If it was, I wouldn't be the one bringing to you." Now that Anika and Lucious were in the final stages of their divorce, Lucious was more like a big brother to Anika than a much-hated ex-husband. He was also still her boss – part of the divorce agreement ensured that Anika would never be fired for anything that wasn't related to job performance. The ill will between them had dissipated with the divorce papers. In less than a month, it would be all over. "What are you up to?" Anika asked, taking a seat across from Lucious and pulling out breakfast for two. Maybe Lucious would take the news better with a full stomach.

"Going over the security tape from a couple of days ago," Lucious informed Anika. "The fire chief said that the alarms went off because somebody pulled the alarm on the bottom floor. As soon as I figured out who did it-"

 _Here we go._ "I pulled the alarm, Lucious," Anika interrupted.

"You?" Lucious set down his croissant sandwich. "Anika, why would you pull our fire alarm? You know how much money could cost us in fines?"

Anika took a deep breath and began to tread very, very lightly. "We have an employee here who is being abused by her boyfriend." That got Lucious's full attention. If there was one thing Lucious never tolerated, it was violence against women or children. "Her boyfriend was here, looking for her, and I had to get her out of here and away from him without her being seen. I know it wasn't the best idea, Lucious, but it was all I could think to do for the minute."

"That's what we have security for, Anika," Lucious said irritably. "Or you call me or one of my sons. You don't pull the fire alarm."

"I understand, Lucious. If there's any fine to pay, I'll be happy to pay it."

"Enh, that's okay. At least we know it's not a faulty alarm system." With that out of the way, Lucious took a big bite of his breakfast sandwich and relaxed. "And I'm glad that you're looking out for one of our employees." Lucious pulled out his notepad and began to write. "What did you say her name was again?"

There was no sense in putting it off any longer. "Cookie Lyon."

Lucious's head jerked up from his notepad. "What did you say?"

"It's...it's Cookie, Lucious." It was no easier saying it the second time. "Angelo's been beating Cookie." _And worse,_ she added in her head.

To Anika's surprise, Lucious chuckled after his brain finally processed the information. "My Cookie has a bunch of wigs and loves animal prints," he teased Anika. "What does your Cookie look like?"

Anika leaned forward. "My Cookie has two broken ribs, a black eye and a busted eardrum."

Lucious's smile faded. "You're serious, Anika?"

"I wouldn't make up something like this, Lucious."

"You mean you're telling me that that punk motherfucker put his hands on my babymama and-"

"Ex-wife," Anika corrected. Hell, Anika was a babymama, not Cookie.

"You mean that punk motherfucker put his hands on my ex-wife and _still_ came up in my place of business looking for her? In _my_ shit?"

Anika nodded. Wordlessly, Lucious reached into his desk and pulled out his gun. Anika was wise enough to let Lucious walk all the way to the door before she spoke again. "Don't bother," she called, nicking a hash brown from Lucious's breakfast. "I told him to leave town."

Lucious turned around. "You _what?"_ he asked incredulously.

"I told him to leave town," Anika repeated.

Lucious walked briskly towards Anika and thrust his finger into her face. "I should fuck you up!" he declared, coming very close to doing so.

Anika didn't move a muscle. "I wish you would," she sneered, sounding very much like Cookie back in her heyday. "If you want to see Cookie sometime between now and the end of the world, I suggest you sit down and get the hell out of my face."

Lucious stepped back, a slightly crazed look in his eyes as he stumbled back to his chair, breakfast forgotten by the both of them. "Tell me everything that happened. Please, Anika," he begged. "I gotta know what's going on. _Please_."

For the most part, Anika obliged, though she sidestepped the severity of Cookie's injuries. She also assured Lucious that Cookie had received medical care, though she made no mention of the results listed in Cookie's ER report. "So where is she now?" Lucious asked anxiously when Anika finished.

"I can't tell you that, Lucious."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I told Cookie that I wouldn't tell you until she's ready to see you."

Lucious's eyes narrowed. "You lied, Anika."

"No, I didn't, Lucious. Cookie has to trust somebody right now. And for whatever reason, Lucious, she didn't trust you enough to tell you what was going on with her and Angelo. She told me, not you."

"Only because you walked in on her," Lucious grumbled.

"You're right. And when I tried to go get you that morning, she stopped me. Twice." Anika took note of the pained look on Lucious's face. "But when I put her in car to go to the emergency room, she went. Believe me when I say this, Lucious: there is absolutely nothing you could've said to Cookie that day that would've made her to go ER. But that wouldn't have been your top priority anyway, Lucious. Your top priority would've been trying to get to Angelo."

"You're wrong, Anika," Lucious denied. "I've been trying to reach Cookie all weekend-"

"Has she called you?" Anika asked.

"No," Lucious said sullenly.

"Texted you?"

"No."

"Returned any of your calls or texts?"

Lucious made a face. "Get to the point, Anika."

"My point is that your only point of contact with Cookie is me. And if I tell her that you're too dangerous to be around her right now, it'll be a while before you hear from her again." Anika took a sip of her Sprite. "Can I tell you something I've never told anybody before?" she asked.

Wordlessly, Lucious nodded and sat back down. He didn't know where Anika was going with this, but he did know that whatever Anika was about to say was going to be pertinent. "When I was in high school, this guy I'd known my whole life raped me at a party. I never told anybody, but it got back to them anyway. I don't have any brothers, but I have a ton of boy cousins. They found that guy and beat him within an inch of his life. Even broke one of his kneecaps, from what I heard. I never saw him again."

"Good for your family," Lucious commented.

"Yeah, good for them. But here's the thing: to this day, not one person has ever asked me if I was okay. I didn't need anybody to go and beat that guy up. I needed somebody to tell me that everything was going to be okay. I needed somebody to tell me that I wasn't stupid or a whore or any of the things he said I was. But the Calhoun name was way more important than the Calhoun girl who got hurt. I was an afterthought."

Lucious considered Anika's words as she continued to speak. "Angelo is going to get his, Lucious. We both know that. He can't stay out of town forever. And hell, you can go after him. Any man stupid enough to put his hands on Lucious Lyon's ex-wife can't be hard to find. But what's more important to you, Lucious?" Anika reached across Lucious's desk and took his hands into hers. "Is your need for revenge more important than Cookie's well-being?"

Lucious jerked his hands away from Anika. "You don't understand the streets, Anika. Angelo doesn't seem to understand who I am or how this works. He put his hands on my babymama-"

"Ex-wife," Anika corrected again.

"-my ex-wife, and what, he didn't think he was going to suffer any consequences behind that?"

"My guess is that he thought Cookie would never tell you. Which, in case you didn't notice, she never did. Fear is a hell of a motivator, Lucious. You'll never know that."

"You don't get it," Lucious insisted. "I love Cookie, Anika. She's my first love and I would do anything for her..."

"I love Cookie, too, Lucious," Anika said gently. "I don't like her, but I do love her."

Lucious's eyebrows rose. "How could you possibly love Cookie?" he asked.

"When I see Cookie with my child, how could I not love her?" Anika answered. "She's the blood of my blood. Both of you are."

Lucious thought it over. "Does that mean you love me, too?"

"Ask me another time. Not today." Anika rose and took her trash, along with Lucious's. "Not while you're ready to Angelo my ass."

"I would _never_ put my hands on _any_ female." Lucious gave half a smile and winked. "Not even you."

"Well, thank you, Lucious." Anika dumped the uneaten food in the trash can. "I'm going out of town this weekend," she informed him. "Do me a favor, Lucious. Don't go bugging the hell out of Cookie, okay? I'll let her know that we've talked. But it's going to be up to her to decide if she wants to see you. Respect that, okay?"

"You're leaving town? _Now?"_ Lucious asked. "Everything that's going on, and you're out of here?"

"Going to D.C.," Anika answered. "No offense, but if Angelo rolls back into town like a fool, I don't want to be around to see what happens."

"What about Cookie?"

"I'm pretty sure that Cookie knows where her own apartment is. She's a big girl - she can get home. Oh, and she has Bella with her, so hopefully the two of you can spend some time with her while I'm gone."

Lucious nodded. "I'd go over and wait for her to show up, but I swung by last night, and man, there were a ton of people inside and outside of her place. I guess they're changing her locks and stuff?"

"Her whole security system," Anika confirmed. "I want to make sure Cookie never has a reason to feel scared in her place again. My guy told me that there's actually going to be two doors in Cookie's place now. The second one doesn't have a key and can only be unlocked from the inside or by Cookie's fingerprint."

"You mean like the doors in the back boardroom, where the back doors lead to the executive parking lot," Lucious noticed. They'd been installed a couple of years ago, back after a new head of security was needed after Bunkie's untimely death. "Turning the place into an impenetrable fortress, huh?" Anika's cheeks and the tips of her ears turned red. "No wonder you're going to D.C. out of nowhere. Cookie know that you're digging after her scraps?"

"He's not scraps, Lucious," Anika said tersely. The good faith between the two of them was beginning to fade, so Anika grabbed her purse and stood to leave. "And yes, Cookie knows. We've talked about it." Talked was a stretch, but Anika declined to go any further.

"What did she say?"

Anika tried to hide a smile. "She told me not to blow it."

"Really? Because if you don't blow it, I guarantee he's not gonna stick around."

"Good- _bye_ , Lucious!" Anika laughed as she walked out of Lucious's office.

"Have a good trip. Leave the address and phone number of where you're going to be."

Anika's hands flew to her hips. "Are you serious, Lucious?"

"You know better," Lucious reminded her. Even at their most vicious of times, Lucious always kept tabs on Anika for safety reasons.

"Fine, fine. I'll leave it at the front. Bye."

"Bye." Lucious leaned back and took in everything Anika had told her. Rage was still ripping through his heart, of course. A part of Lucious was still furious with Anika for a number of reasons: for sending Angelo away, for hiding Cookie out wherever she was, for taking off when she should've been staying with Cookie. But Anika had her own way of doing things, and she was right. For whatever reason, Cookie chose to confide in Anika and accept Anika's help when she had yet to even call Lucious. Now Lucious needed to examine himself and ask himself why. "Hey! Anika!" Lucious yelled as loud as he could.

Anika poked her head through the door. "Yeah?"

"How are you feeling?" Lucious asked slowly.

Anika smiled, understanding. "I'm better, Lucious. Thank you." Lucious nodded, and Anika left.

* * *

While Cookie was either being poked by doctors, shitting her guts out, fighting with Anika, or having Vicodin nightmares, Angelo was calling. And calling. And _calling_.

10:32 a.m. _"Lori, this is Angelo. Uh, I came to see you earlier today at work, but you weren't there. I left some flowers with Anika. Did you get them? Let me know. Love you. Bye."_

"Cookie," Cookie said out loud, then pursed her lips together. That was what caused this whole thing in the first place. _My name is Cookie._

11:18 a.m. _"Lori, hey. Look, we need to talk about last night. I-I know things went a little far, but if you think about it, we were both at fault...never mind about that, though. Give me a call, okay? We can work this out. Even if you don't want to marry me, maybe we can slow our relationship down a bit and still be together. I want to be with you, Lori-I mean, Cookie. I want to be with you, Cookie. Call me, okay? Let's work this out. Love you. Bye."_

 _He called me Cookie._ Cookie smiled, despite everything. When Angelo was good to her, he was so good to her. _If only he could stop being so mean to me..._

1:11 p.m. _Lor-Cookie, I've been trying to reach you all day - where are you? Are you sick, are...are you feeling okay? Listen, if I don't hear from you in about an hour, I'm coming over to make sure your're okay. I just want to make sure you're alright, okay? Okay. Call me. Bye."_

He cared. Cookie knew that he cared. Angelo wanted to make sure that she was okay! He wanted to talk to her and work things out. Marriage was out of the question of course, but if Angelo was serious about being sorry...wait, was Angelo sorry? Cookie couldn't remember him saying that he, but he had to be, right?

1:46 p.m. _Lori, what the fuck is going on? I get to your place and my keys don't work? You got guys over there changing your locks - and now you've got some black-ass bodyguard at your house telling me I need to leave. What, you fuckin' him? I should've known! Here I am trying to make things right with you like a man and you're already spreading your legs for another man. I guess once a hoodrat, always a hoodrat. Never mind about calling me. Fuck you, bitch. Go to hell."_

It was as if a cold bucket of water had been dumped on Cookie's head. _I'm so stupid,_ Cookie thought bitterly. Angelo was still the same Angelo. The same Angelo who had kicked her in the ribs like a dog, and who had taken off his condom without telling her.

1:53 p.m. _"Cookie, look. I-I-I'm sorry. I am. I'm sorry. I was just mad. I didn't mean any of those things, I swear. I didn't mean any of it. I promise. I love you. Call me. Bye."_

"Fuck you, bitch!" Cookie shouted at her phone through her tears. Angelo had played her for the fool. It wouldn't happen again. Honestly, "black-ass bodyguard?" _Talk about the pot calling the kettle a black ass._

2:08 p.m. _"Cookie, this is Anika. Hey, I need to take off for a while. I'm going back to D.C. with - I mean, I'm going to D.C...(laugh) never mind. You know what's up."_

"Hope you took some protection," Cookie said aloud. The azithromycin she was forced to take in order to clear up her chlamydia was almost as bad as having chlamydia itself.

 _"Anyway, I talked to Lucious. It's safe to go home now. Your new keys are hanging on the key ring in front of my door. You have two doors now - the second one opens with your fingerprint. Don't ask me how they managed to do that, but they did. You can stay at my place for as long as you want to. All I'm asking is that you don't invite Lucious over. Kiss my baby for me. There's plenty of breast milk in the freezer._

 _Oh, and if you look in the medicine cabinet in my master bathroom, you'll find some painkillers that are much milder than the ones the docs prescribed you. I had my father call in a prescription in my name. It's really not much more than strong ibuprofen, but they'll make you feel better. Have fun. Bye."_

Cookie practically ran to the bathroom. The Vicodin had been far too strong, but Cookie was almost beginning to regret flushing them down the toilet. Her hands shook as she struggled to open the bottle. With pills in hand, Cookie washed them down with tap water from the faucet until her stomach nearly burst. _Thank you, Boo Boo Kitty!_ she thought with immense gratitude, her stomach sloshing with water as she stumbled about packing an overnight bag for Bella to take back to her apartment.

Cookie hoped that Bella would manage to stay asleep until they were back at her apartment, but Bella's morning cries filled the air as soon as Cookie started to pack her overnight back. Her cries turned into full blown screams when Cookie walked into the room, and she fought and fought Cookie the minute she tried to hold her granddaughter. "Bella, what in the world?" This wasn't the first time Bella had woken up to find Cookie standing over her, rather than Anika. What in the world was the problem?

Bella continued to scream and fight as Cookie changed her diaper, refusing both her bottle and her pacifier. Wriggling and jerking as much as her tiny body could muster, Bella continued to cry until Cookie set her back in her crib. Cookie looked around for a toy or blanket to soothe Bella when she caught a glimpse at her reflection in the mirror.

"Oh, my God," Cookie mumbled. The puffy little mouse under Cookie's eye had blossomed to a full blown under-the-eyelash black eye, while both sides of her face and her neck sported marks that were obviously put there by a man's hands. Cookie's lips were cracked and crusted with flakes of blood, and small, red bruises had turned purple overnight. Her face was sunken in, and Anika's bathrobe nearly swallowed her whole. No wonder Bella was crying - Cookie was barely recognizable.

Recognizable or not, Cookie was responsible for Bella for the weekend. "Shh, shh, Bella baby," Cookie soothed. She put Bella on her hip, ignoring the pain in her side as she hummed a melody, then began to sing. Bella didn't recognize Cookie's face, but she did recognize Cookie's voice. It took a while, but in time, Bella was finally calm enough to take her bottle and even giggle and coo as Cookie rained kisses on Bella with her swollen lips. Bella was was fast asleep by the time her Uber ride showed up, where Cookie also took an afternoon nap.

"Miss? Miss, we're here." After paying and tipping the driver, Cookie used her new keys - more like an access card - to get into the first door. The second door actually required Cookie's entire hand, not just a finger. Even though everything else in Cookie's place was the exact same, Cookie felt like she had been locked in...well, an impenetrable fortress. One thing was for sure, however: even Christ himself wouldn't have been able to get to her apartment. Feeling safer than she'd ever felt before, Cookie accessed her voicemail again.

2:16. pm. " _Cookie, hey. This is Lucious. Just calling to check up on you. Um...I talked to Anika, and, uh...I know what happened. And I just want you to know that I'm here for you. Whatever you need, Cookie. I'm here. So give me a call - or don't give me a call. I don't want to bug you. I'm not going to come barging over unless you want me to. Just want you to know that you can call me if you want to, or you can come over if you want to, or if you want me to come over, I will. Anyway, that's all I wanted. Just let me know you're okay, Cookie. I promise I'll leave you alone. Bye."_

 _Lucious._ Cookie closed her eyes and could hear his voice in her ears. She could feel his arms around her body, his lips on her skin. He would have protected her, had she just told him what was going on, so why didn't she? Why, even now, did Cookie still want to protect Angelo, to see him unharmed, when he had split town - something he hadn't told Cookie in all those messages he'd left?

The ring of her cell phone brought Cookie back to the present. She pressed the green button without looking at the screen. "Lucious?"

A pause. "No, it's Angelo."

Disappointed filled Cookie's body. "Why are you calling me?" she asked, unpacking Bella's things. "You'd think after me ignoring all your messages that you would take a hint." Cookie didn't mention that she'd just woken up a couple of hours ago.

"You haven't called me-"

"I was too busy fucking my black-ass bodyguard," Cookie said sarcastically.

"I've been calling and calling you. I just wanted to make sure-"

"That Lucious wasn't coming to kill you," Cookie finished. "I know why you left town, and it's not because you give a damn about how I'm feeling. Oh, but I should tell you that your dirty dicked ass gave me chlamydia, so you might wanna go get that checked out before you rape somebody else."

 _"Rape?!"_ What the hell are you talking about? I never raped you!"

"You took your condom off when we were together! I never told you that you could do that!" Another thought crossed Cookie's mind. "And you took it from me, over and over again, even when I didn't want it. You just took and took - even if I wasn't saying anything or doing anything...even when I told you no! _'Oh, just a little bit, baby. Oh, I can't stop - it feels too good. Oh, but I'm your man, baby. I need it.' "_ Cookie's voice began to shake. "And I could forgive all of that, Angelo, but I never consented to that, and you knew I never would. That's why you didn't tell me. Now I'm sick because of you.

"'' _I didn't consent to that_ ,'" Angelo mocked. "You sound like you've been on feminist websites all night."

Cookie _had_ been on feminist sites all night, before the Vicodin kicked it. Finally, Cookie was able to understand that rape had nothing to do with streets and sidewalks, nothing to do with rich or poor. Angelo had violated her in more ways than one. She had far more rights to her body than she'd ever imagined. "You _raped_ me, Angelo," she repeated. "You raped me and you beat me-"

"I told you, Lori. We were both wrong-"

"Both!?" Cookie demanded. "How was I wrong, Angelo? Huh? For breaking up with you? That gave you the right to break my ribs?"

"Lori-"

 _"My name is Cookie!"_ Cookie screamed, then sighed. "This is all pointless, Angelo. We're just going around and around. I'm blocking your number. Don't call me, don't come by my place, don't come by Empire. And God help you, Angelo, because you're going to need it if you ever cross Lucious's path again."

Cookie hung up before Angelo could say anything else. She scrolled to her phone's setting and blocked Angelo's number. Another number flashed across Cookie's screen - an unlisted one - and Cookie didn't answer. Instead, she dialed the number of the only person she wanted to talk to at the time.

Lucious answered on the first ring, as if he'd been staring at his phone for the past three hours. Aside from his lone voicemail, Lucious had kept his word and given Cookie her space. "Cookie?" he said urgently. Cookie tried to talk, but her words got stuck in her throat, just like the screams in her dreams. All Lucious could hear was Cookie weeping.

"Can you come?" Cookie finally managed to say when she could speak again. "Lucious, can you come?"

Back to her usual, cheerful self, Cookie was able to read Bella a story, change and feed her and even give her a bath before putting her down for her evening nap. She was overjoyed when Bella planted her sloppy kisses all over Cookie's swollen face. "I love you," Cookie whispered over and over, watching Bella as she slept in the crib in Cookie's guest nursery until her doorbell rang.

Cookie didn't know what was going to happened when she opened the door (doors, she reminded herself) to let Lucious in. What he was going to do? Yell? Make accusations? Try to use this experience to get closer to her? Lucious did none of those things. With music blaring from his cell phone, Lucious bounced through the door, completed a high kick, and landed as gracefully as a 47-year-old man in dress shoes could muster.

 _"And I know you gettin' borrrrred.../dealin' with him..."_ Lucious sang as loudly and off-key as Bobby Brown himself. " _I know you miss my lovin'/my thuggin'/thug lovin...'"_ It wasn't what Cookie was expecting, but it was exactly what she needed. "Lucious, you a damn fool!" Cookie proclaimed. It hurt Cookie's face and her ribs as she cracked up at Lucious's enthusiastic hip thrusting, but it was true: laughter was indeed the best medicine.

Lucious's smile faded when he saw Cookie's face. Nothing Anika said could've prepared Lucious for what was in front of him."Lucious, it's okay," Cookie assured him as his lips parted and his face registered shock. "I'm alright, I promise." She took Lucious's hand, kissed his palm and smiled. "I promise. I'm okay."

"Oh, Cookie..." Lucious opened his arms, and Cookie's body melted into his. They fit so perfectly together, both physically and mentally. "I should've seen it," Lucious murmured into Cookie's shoulder. "I should've protected you. I'm sorry, Cookie, I'm so sorry..."

Cookie's shoulder was damp with Lucious's tears. They'd been so young when they married, and God knows Cookie's mouth was slicker than an oil spill, but not once did Lucious ever think of hitting her. "I'll kill him," Lucious swore, crying freely into Cookie's shoulder. "I swear to God, I'll kill him."

"Just hold me, Lucious." The tears Cookie had been holding in all day finally began to fall. Lucious had been right when he told Cookie that she would always love him, but wasn't ready to deal with that just yet. She was now, though. Denying her love for Lucious had led to so much destruction in their family. The only good thing that had come from it all was Bella. She had been worth it all, but that didn't mean that the destruction of their family had to continue. It was time to end it - if for nothing else, for Cookie's own peace of mind.

Cookie placed her forehead against Lucious's, wiping his tears away with her hand. "This thing with Angelo...I was only trying to make it work because I wanted to get over you. I kept overlooking stuff and making up excuses trying to make it work because I didn't want another relationship to fail. But they're all going to fail, aren't they? Until I deal with my feelings for you. I-I'm ready, Lucious."

"You're ready?" Lucious asked tenderly, wiping Cookie's tears away as well. "Ready for what?"

Cookie took a deep breath. "Look, I don't know how I feel about you. I love you, I hate you, I'm scared to be with you...but you're right. I've got to sort my feelings out. For everybody's sake, not just mine. So...stay with me, Lucious. Please. I don't want to sleep with you and I don't want to get back together with you. I just...I just need you right now. I need you by my side, Lucious."

"I'll be wherever you need me to be, Cookie." Lucious scooped Cookie off her feet, carried her to her bedroom, and laid her on her back. "Thank you," Cookie murmured, curling up into Lucious's arms like they used to do. The day had been so draining, and Cookie's body still ached all over, but Cookie knew that everything was going to be okay. Lucious was here.

TBC


	4. Karma Police

From the time they met, Lucious had always been fascinated with Cookie's hair - scratching and oiling and brushing and washing. "Girl, I could plant rows of corn in your hair," Lucious teased as he took down Cookie's cornrows, the ones she wore under her wigs. Any man could love a woman who was coiffed and made up, but it took a real man to love a woman while he was scratching dandruff out of her scalp.

"Shut up, Lucious." Cookie said sleepily. Lucious's touch had always been gentle.

"I'm serious, Cook! I'ma get some milk and a bowl for these cornflakes of yours. Like Tony the Tiger said - _they're greeeeeat!"_ Lucious had been making Cookie laugh all night. Despite the pain in her ribs, it felt wonderful to laugh again.

Later, Cookie laid on her kitchen counter as Lucious carefully washed and conditioned her dark brown locks. It would've been much easier to do in the shower - water was splashing everywhere and Cookie was soaked to her skin - but Cookie didn't want to be naked around Lucious just yet.

When he was finished, Lucious carefully detangled Cookie's still damp locks with a large comb, then finally ran a brush through Cookie's freshly washed hair until it shone. "Looks good," he commented when he was finally done. "If I do say so myself."

Cookie shrugged, braiding her hair into thick cornrows so it could air dry. Later on, she would make much smaller braids to put underneath her wigs. "Heyyy. Set it off," Lucious complimented. "Now all you need is a bouncing car, some smokes and a girlfriend, Cleo." Lucious smiled when Cookie flipped him the finger. "You're not helping your cause, you know."

Cookie sat on her plush leather couch, the one that Angelo had bought her so long ago, and flipped around on her smart TV. "Hey, you wanna watch it?" Cookie was still getting caught up on black movie classics, but she was familiar with this one.

"Sure," Lucious agreed. _Set It Off_ was one of his favorite movies, too. They settled down to an old-fashioned movie night like old times, back when Lucious and Cookie were young parents with a hot VCR, bootleg video tapes and off-brand snacks. Even as a teenager, Lucious Lyon was a family man down to the soles of his Timbs, preferring a quiet night at home with his wife and his sons to running the streets or picking up women in clubs.

Curled up with Cookie's sweet-smelling hair under his chin and Lucious's strong arms around Cookie's body, the pair fell asleep until Bella's crying woke them up. "Rest," Lucious told Cookie with a kiss on her cheek, and Cookie gladly went back to sleep. When Cookie opened her eyes again, Lucious was sitting in a large chair, feeding Bella - or trying to, anyway. Bella wasn't sure if she was hungry or sleepy, so she was taking a crack at both. _Just like Jamal used to do_ , Cookie thought.

"Remember when we would practically fall asleep trying to feed Jamal?" Lucious asked.

"I was just thinking about that." Cookie sat up and stretched. "Three in the morning, trying to keep him awake long enough to eat...you think they do it just to torture us?"

"Probably." Lucious leaned over and kissed a sleepy Bella on her cheek. "Here, I'll take her," Cookie volunteered. "You should see the way I redid her nursery.

"I'll take her to the nursery. You go get me some popcorn."

"What's the magic word?" Cookie teased.

"Now," Lucious fired back with a smile.

"Whatever, stupid." Lucious grinned widely as Cookie pushed Lucious upside the head, that fine ass bouncing past him. He couldn't help but reach out and smack Cookie's ass. Cookie whirled around, her eyes wide. "Motherfuck...!" Her voice trailed when she saw Lucious eyeing her strangely, Bella still in his arms. Lucious, not Angelo. _Lucious would never hurt me,_ Cookie reminded herself, but her heart still beat wildly.

"I'm sorry," Lucious said, understanding. Cookie just nodded. "I'll watch myself, okay?"

Cookie nodded again and went into the kitchen. Her hands shook as she tried to pour soda in two glasses. _Lucious would never hurt me,_ Cookie told herself over and over again, but she jumped yet again when Lucious touched her shoulder from behind. Was Cookie doomed to be afraid in her own house, in her own skin, for the rest of her life?

"You need some help?" Lucious asked gently.

Cookie shook her head. She looked up into Lucious's eyes, warm and understanding, and lowered her head again. Her bravado was gone. Humiliation and fear was all that was left. Lucious hated to see Cookie like this, so he drew her into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. "When Angelo asked to marry me, everything in my heart was telling me that this was the wrong thing to do," she confessed.

"So why did you say yes?"

"I didn't want to embarrass him. I guess...I guess I was scared to say no." Cookie made a gesture with her hand. "Hell, look at what happened when I did." Cookie took Lucious's hand and walked him to her couch - the couch Angelo had bought her. _I should burn this thing._ "Lucious..." Cookie took Lucious's hands in hers. "I need to ask you to do something for me. And it's going to be hard for you to do, but if you love me like you say you do, you'll do it."

"Anything, Cookie." Lucious laid back, and Cookie put her head on Lucious's chest. Lucious inhaled the wonderful scent of honey mimosa pomade. "Just tell me what you need."

Cookie looked up at Lucious. His eyes were so full of love and trust that it pained her to know that she would be taking the light from his eyes. "I don't want you to hurt Angelo, Lucious," she informed him.

"Are you crazy?" Lucious jumped to his feet. Cookie yelped as she hit the ground. Lucious stood over her yelling, but Cookie couldn't hear him. She couldn't see him, either. All Cookie could see was Angelo standing over her, calling her names, ready to deliver a swift kick or a backhand at a moment's notice. "Stop! Stop!" Cookie crawled backwards and curled into a ball, her hands over her ears. _Lucious won't hurt me,_ Cookie told herself over and over again. _Lucious won't hurt me...will he?_

"Cookie." Lucious knelt next to Cookie, who scooted back even faster. "No," she begged. "Don't. Don't, please..."

"Cookie! Cookie, I'm not going to hurt you!" Lucious reached for Cookie's shoulder, but she shook her head wildly. There was nowhere else to go. "Leave me alone! _Leave me alone!"_

There was nothing Lucious could do but sit on the floor next to Cookie, who was rocking back and forth. "Cookie...it's me. It's me, Cook. It's Lucious." Slowly, carefully, Lucious crept towards Cookie, inch by inch while Cookie squeezed herself into a ball. "It's Lucious, baby. I'm here to protect you, Cookie. Don't you...don't you know that? Don't you know that I would never put a finger on you, Cookie?" Lucious's voice cracked as Cookie stared at him with distrusting eyes. _"You're...so...beautiful..."_ he sang softly.

The song seemed to have an effect on Cookie. When Lucious looked into her eyes again, there was recognition there. It took Lucious nearly 15 minutes before Cookie was back in Lucious's arms, this time on the rug by the fireplace. _Lucious won't hurt me. Lucious won't hurt me._ "Cookie, I have to pay Angelo back for this," Lucious informed Cookie matter-of-factly. "Can't you see why you're asking too much out of me?"

Cookie rolled on her back and glared up at Lucious. "This is my karma, Lucious. We all have to pay the piper one day, and I'm paying now."

"Karma? Karma for what? What did you do that was so bad that you think you deserve to have your ribs broken?"

Cookie's heart was beating so loudly that Lucious could hear it by the firelight. "I know somebody told you about Hazel, Lucious," she said at last. "That's why you divorced me all those years ago, isn't it?"

Hazel. Lucious hadn't heard the name in nearly 30 years. "Not really. I thought you'd moved on. How was I supposed to feel when I heard you got yourself a little prison girlfriend?"

"She wasn't my girlfriend, Lucious."

"No...but you slept with her."

"I had to, Lucious." Cookie sat up, and Lucious wrapped his arms around her. Cookie rubbed her hand up and down Lucious's chest, feeling his heart pounding underneath his fingertips. "You don't understand what things were like. And if you had come to see me instead of just filing for divorce, I could've told you what was going on, instead of you just taking other people's word for it."

Cookie closed her eyes, and Lucious felt Cookie's tears dripping onto his chest. "Okay. Tell me, Cookie," Lucious said, a hard edge to his voice. "Tell me why you had a girlfriend when you supposedly loved me."

Cookie took her time before speaking. She'd never told this story before, not to anyone, and she never planned to. "Hazel was my cellmate, Lucious. A white girl. We got along okay." Hazel's only crime had been riding in a car with her man's contraband. Like Cookie, Hazel didn't snitch. But her boyfriend did, leaving him free to knock up her best friend while Hazel was left to rot. "I knew something was wrong when I went out into the yard one day and saw her chillin' with Da Fellas."

"Da Fellas?" Lucious repeated. "Who were Da Fellas?"

"Prison gang. Only mixed one in the place. Everybody else hung out with their own kind – blacks with blacks, whites with whites, you know? But them - Da Fellas?" Cookie's eyes grew hard. "Just a rainbow coalition of monsters."

"Every prison has one. Just evil people. No reason at all."

"You got it. Anyway, a couple of days later, one of the leaders in the Jigs - it was a black prison gangs - told me that Hazel was looking for protection from the other gangs. Hazel wasn't from the streets, and she didn't have no connects on the outside. And she didn't hate black people. All she had was her body. So my job was to turn Hazel out so she'd belong to the sistas, primarily the Jigs."

At that time, Cookie was still married, and growing more and more anxious and desperate by the day to see her husband and her sons. At the same time, the minimal protection Cookie got from being Lucious's wife was fading. More so, if Cookie didn't follow orders. The Jigs - short for jigaboos and a reference to a Spike Lee film - was the most powerful of all the black gangs. When there were meetings to be had with the guards or with the other races, Lottie, the head Jig, was always the one to represent all of the black prisoners. If Lottie said to turn out a white cellmate, Cookie was to turn out a white cellmate. Besides, Cookie couldn't leave Hazel to Da Fellas, even if Cookie was a new fish herself.

"Hazel was a prime piece of white pussy that was up for grabs," Cookie explained. "So...I did it. Lucious, I had to," she said when Lucious looked away. "I was a new fish, too. You know I wasn't one of the gang girls. Any street cred I had was because I was your wife. I already had bitches testing me. And if Lottie Peterson told you to get on your knees and eat a white girl out, that's exactly what you did."

Even now, a part of Lucious never believed the things that his boys were telling him about his wife were true. He just clung on to the rumors as justification for divorcing Cookie. Deep down, Lucious never believed that Cookie was sleeping with women. Now here was Cookie saying that she did. "Did you like it?" Lucious asked bitterly.

"No, Lucious," Cookie said with conviction. "I didn't."

"Did she?"

 _"Will you shut up? Shut up!"_ Cookie hissed that night while Hazel gripped Cookie's hair tightly as she moaned. The last thing Cookie needed these dykes to know was that she could get her tongue around a clit, which was as much of a surprise to Cookie as it was to anybody else. But Cookie was fueled not by arousal, but by frustration and fear. _"Damn, Cookie!"_ somebody yelled later that night as Hazel's screams rang through the prison halls. " _You tryna fuck her or make love to her?"_ Finally, Cookie pushed a pillow on Hazel's face to muffle her screams, sorely tempted to keep her there until she quit struggling. Hazel screamed, squirted all over Cookie's face and slid to the floor, shaking uncontrollably to the loud cheers and whoops of the other inmates. By morning, it was official: Hazel belonged to the sistas.

"I don't know," Cookie finally answered. Lucious knew Cookie was lying, but he let it go.

Back then, Cookie often wondered if it ever got to Lucious that she'd cheated on him with Hazel, because the divorce papers came just two weeks later. She said nothing about it, just like she said nothing about turning Hazel out. But Cookie she didn't have to. Word got around. _"I'm sorry, Cookie,"_ Hazel said a couple of nights later. She positioned her body over Cookie's, dipped low, and kissed her lips. The only time Cookie ever really talked or showed any joy was when she talked about her husband and her sons. _"I'm so sorry..."_

Cookie lifted her hips robotically, then her legs. She stared into space as Hazel removed her pants, then her underwear. She didn't know how she was still breathing. A divorce. The marriage they'd fought for since they were 16 years old was over. Cookie had known it was coming, but she never expected the day to actually arrive. Lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, Cookie felt her body shudder as tears ran down the sides of her face. The physical release was desperately needed, and Cookie was grateful. Hazel was grateful that she had protection. The sistas were grateful that they had a fresh piece of white pussy.

Da Fellas were not so grateful.

While Hazel was no longer up for grabs, Cookie was. She may have gotten some points with Lottie's family for turning Hazel out, but that wasn't a favor – that was an order. And with Lucious divorcing her so publicly, everybody knew how vulnerable Cookie would be. This was when Cookie had to draw from deep into her reserves, from her north Philly Holloway days. Cookie was the silent, unpredictable type that nobody knew how to handle. But Cookie knew she was running out of time. She didn't know which gang to turn to, and nobody extended a hand, not even the Jigs. All Cookie knew was that she had no intention of being pimped out like Hazel was. Cookie was made of stronger stuff.

"They came into our cell one night. I don't know how they got in. Da Fellas didn't even bother to muffle Hazel's screams. Hazel thought they'd spared me because I was black." Cookie gave a short, bitter laugh. "They were really just fucking with me. They wanted me to see what they could do. A whole prison block and a bunch of guards heard what was going on, Lucious, and nobody made a sound.

 _"Watch and learn, new fish,"_ one of them hissed in Cookie's ear that night, squeezing so hard that Cookie couldn't even cry out. Every cough, gasp and choke just released more air from Cookie's lungs, and she was unable to take any in. ' _You owe me some pussy, and we're here to get it back. You're gonna be my little lion cub.'_ " The goal wasn't to rape Cookie that night. The fun for Da Fellas was to watch their victims either come crawling to them for protection or fall apart waiting for the inevitable.

But Cookie wasn't one for waiting _or_ for crawling. With tray in hand the very next morning and Hazel's blood still dried on her hands, Cookie walked right up to the one they called Libby, reached back to north Philly and channeled all her hatred into the blow that took out four of Libby's teeth and eventually broke her jaw. Once again, Cookie blacked out, wild with rage and making every strike count. For every blow Cookie took for herself, she took two for Hazel.

 _"Wait,"_ Lottie instructed the guards. _"Let Libby take her ass whuppin."_ It was long overdue, as far as Lottie Peterson was concerned. Lottie was impressed by this crazy-ass new fish, and she wasn't surprised to learn that her last name was Lyon. It suited her, especially since Cookie fought so ferociously while she was being restrained and Tasered. Anyone who was that loyal to a cellmate, especially a white one, would certainly be loyal to a family. And since Cookie had all but guaranteed her death once she got out of SHU, Lottie figured she could use one.

"Lottie knew what I was going through," Cookie continued while Lucious stroked Cookie's freshly washed hair and said nothing, only listened the way he should've listened over 20 years ago. "She'd been married like me. Had kids like me. Had a no-good husband who left her while she was in prison. Like me."

Lucious looked elsewhere as Cookie continued. "Lottie offered me a hand. So I took it - for life. I was one of the untouchables. And that meant that I had my pick of women. Any one of them I wanted, I could have. Or two, or three, or four. But my heart still beat for you, Lucious, and I didn't want to have some clingy, scared female for a prison girlfriend. So..."

Cookie mumbled something Lucious couldn't hear. "Say what?"

Cookie sighed deeply. "I pimped them, Lucious," she confessed, her voice filled with shame. "I guess I shouldn't say pimp because those girls belonged to Lottie, not me. My job was to match the girls up with other girls that they were compatible with and...well, to coach them. That didn't last long, though," Cookie added hurriedly. "Lots of girls wanted to train other girls, so I hooked the coaches up with the girls. Traded them like baseball cards. Offered them to other prisoners if I needed stamps or candy or phone cards...it was all a part of the hustle. If you couldn't protect yourself like I could and you didn't have any juice like Lottie, you went on the stroll. Nothing personal."

"In other words," Lucious said coldly, "you were a pimp."

Cookie nodded slowly. "I try to tell myself that it was different...that _I_ was different. There were other pimps from other crews, but many of those girls were treated badly. I didn't do that. I was very careful about which girl went with which dyke. And I always gave them a fair cut of the commissary."

"That's unusual for a pimp," Lucious pointed out, trying to be kind.

"Yeah, well unhappy hoes made for bad business. There were other crews out there, but we were the biggest. Everybody knew that if you were one of Lottie's girls, you were gonna be treated right. But a bitch couldn't just leave her stable just because she wanted some extra Lemon Heads. Deals had to be made. Palms had to be greased. And I didn't take every bitch who was offered to us. Other ones had to be cut loose. Too much trouble for one reason or another."

"You kept a very meticulous stable," Lucious admired.

"Had to. Hoin' takes on a completely different kind of importance in prison.

Lucious took all of that in. "So what happened to your girl Hazel?"

"Dead," Cookie said sadly. "After that beating, she got transferred out of my cell. I never saw her again, but I do know that she got hooked on some stuff when she got out. Some kind of fight with some dude...stabbed her to death. That's when I grew into my prison skin."

Over the years, Cookie used and discarded women casually, treated them horribly, intentionally didn't call them by name or even look at them. Cookie was quick with an insult and quicker with a backhand to a young bitch who couldn't handle business. "One day, I slapped a girl so hard that her nose and mouth began to bleed. Then I slapped her again for bleeding on my uniform. That's when I knew I'd gotten in too deep."

"I can't imagine you like that, Cookie." Cookie had always been tough, but she was never a bully. The kind of woman Cookie was describing didn't seem to be much better than Da Fellas.

"Well, I was," Cookie asserted. "I'd been doing it for about eight years then. Eight... _years_ , Lucious. For eight years, I traded women for stamps and calling cards. You're going to pay for something like that, no matter how good your intentions were." Cookie blinked her eyes quickly so that her tears wouldn't fall. "Anika reminds me so much of Hazel that it hurts to look at her sometimes."

"Didn't stop you from pimping her to Mimi," Lucious reminded her.

"Oh, Mimi..." Cookie sighed miserably. "I didn't mean for Anika to go sleep with Mimi. I _really_ didn't. I was just popping off at the mouth, having fun at her expense. When she told me that day that she slept with Mimi, I was...I can't even describe what I was feeling." All Cookie could do was mutter back that Anika couldn't even dyke right. "I wouldn't have thought in a million years that she would really go over there and sell her body for me." Cookie's voice cracked. "But the truth is...I don't know if I'm mad at Anika for doing that or mad that it didn't work."

"All Anika has ever wanted was your respect, you know," Lucious told Cookie. "If she had landed the deal, you would've been grateful no matter how she did it. Maybe even proud."

"I would've been," Cookie agreed. "But if Anika had told me what she was doing, I would've told her not to go. She's what I mean when I say that you can't take every ho into your stable. I would've traded Anika for a pair of loosies and a pack of pre-chewed gum."

"How come?"

"Because she would've probably tried a power play and got herself killed, just like she tried with Mimi and lost. It's not even about streets and sidewalks, Lucious. She's just not about that life. Neither was Hazel. She never should've been on the stroll. Hell, she never should've been in prison, period." Cookie let her tears fall then, silently. "So do you see why I don't want you taking things out on Angelo?" she asked Lucious.

"No," Lucious said firmly. "You did what you had to do in order to survive."

"Did I really, Lucious? Or did I do what was easiest for me?"

"It doesn't matter, Cookie." Lucious shuffled his legs around; his legs and feet were becoming numb. "This God you love so much - he knows your heart and your intentions. And you certainly sound like you were a much better pimp than the others. You looked out for those girls. You're not getting your ass kicked because of some shit you did in prison - you're getting your ass beat because a psychotic motherfucker beat your ass. And it's up to me to take care of that. What you're asking of me...it's too much, Cookie. I'm sorry, but some things need to be handled man-to-man - and _only_ the men."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Cookie shoved Lucious away and stood to her feet. "Is my being beaten and raped fucking up _your_ universe?"

"Raped?" Lucious got up while Cookie cursed herself for saying too much. "What do you mean, _raped?"_

"Not for real, Lucious, not really! It's just..." The matter of non-consensual acts during consensual sex could wait. Cookie knew she had to say something fast, lest Lucious walk out the door and go looking for Angelo this very second. "Look, Angelo would take his condom off when we were having sex, okay? And I didn't know he was doing it...and now..." Cookie was too afraid to look at Lucious. "I got chlamydia, Lucious." She dared to look up. "I'm sorry, Lucious," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Lucious stood so stock still that Cookie couldn't tell what he was thinking. "You know," he finally said, chuckling bitterly, "Anika asked me earlier today is my love for you is greater than my hatred for Angelo." Lucious shook his head, still smiling. "And I'll be damned if I can't give an answer right about now. So don't ask me, Cookie. Just know that I love you. Right now, that's the only thing you can rely on."

"I know you love me, Lucious," Cookie said wearily. "And I know that you love me enough to kill for me. My question is this." Cookie looked up at Lucious. "Do you love me enough to _not_ kill for me?"

The proper answer, of course, was yes. It was to be said immediately, without as much as the blink of an eye, preferably with a reassuring smile and a soft squeeze or a firm hug. Lucious was spared an answer by the ringing phone. In the distance, Cookie could hear Bella crying. "I'll get her," Cookie offered, wanting to get away from her memories of Hazel and pimping and Angelo and lucious's waffling love. "You go take care of business."

Lucious stood and stretched, then pulled Cookie close to him. "Cookie, I love you with everything in my heart," he said solemnly. "If this is what you really want from me, I will consider it deeply." He gave Cookie a reassuring small, a soft squeeze of the hand and a firm hug before leaving the room. It made Cookie smile. Perhaps it wasn't the type of answer Cookie wanted, but it was an honest one. How could Cookie be mad at that?

* * *

"Hey, Cook." Just a few minutes later, Lucious stuck his head through the nursery door. "Do you still have that card from when the security team Anika called put your new system in?"

"It's on the counter by the door. Why? You thinkin' about upgrading your security?"

Lucious left without answering. Once she had a freshly changed and diapered Bella on her hip, Cookie made her way back into the living room to find Lucious on his phone, pacing back and forth, back and forth. "...yeah. Look, if you hear from either one of them, give me a call at this number. Yeah, 'preeciate it. Take care." Lucious sat back down on that godforsaken couch, dropped his head in his hands. "Goddamn it, Anika... _fuck!"_

"Who was that?" Cookie placed Bella in her playpen, but picked her up again when Bella began to whimper. A few kisses peppered all over Bella's face made her smile again.

"That was Mrs. Calhoun who called me," Lucious told Cookie, a strange look on his face. "She wants to know if we can drop Bella off tonight to go to a birthday party while Anika is in Chicago."

"Chicago?" Cookie asked, handing Bella to Lucious's outstretched arms. "I thought she was going to D.C.?"

"So did I. We thought Anika was in D.C because Anika told us she was going to D.C. But guess what? Your boys in D.C. haven't seen Anika, either." Lucious's voice was filled with such anger that Cookie took Bella back. "Let's review. Anika isn't in D.C., Chicago, New York or wherever the hell this address and phone number is supposed to be."

Lucious balled up Anika's handwritten contact information and threw it into the fire, then flicked the security contact card across the room. "But wherever Anika is, I know one thing: Angelo is with her. Don't worry, Cookie," Lucious went on as Cookie's heart began to pound. "Your D.C. crew is on it. They'll find her, believe that. _Wherever_ she is."

"Anika's with _Angelo_?" Anika had taunted Cookie with the knowledge that she knew where Angelo was. But never, not for one second, did she think Anika would go and join him. Especially not after she'd found such a good man to be with her, despite her disastrous involvement with the Lyon family. "But Anika saw what he did to me. She knows what kind of man Angelo is!"

Cookie was close to tears, because Anika had done more than that. She'd taken care of Cookie. Hid her away. Kept her from harm. Fed her. Shed tears with her. And now Anika run off with her ex-fiancee. Cookie's ribs, her eye, her mouth...everything was beginning to hurt, but nothing worse than her heart. Angelo had betrayed her. Anika had betrayed her. The only person Cookie had to depend on was Lucious, and even _that_ was tenuous.

"Cookie. Come on." Lucious gave Cookie a half-smile, despite everything. Taking Bella from Cookie, Lucious gave his granddaughter a tender kiss, then set her in the playpen with no incident. "You really _have_ lost your street edge," he added, pulling Bella's activity mobile over her head to play with. "I know you don't think Anika's trying to get with Angelo, do you?"

"What other reason could she possibly have for being with him?" Cookie asked bitterly. "Why would Anika want to even be in a room with Angelo after seeing what he did to..." Then, out of nowhere, everything became clear to Cookie. _Oh, my God..._

"You know why, Cookie," Lucious said quietly. He crossed the room back to Cookie, steadying her as she sank to the couch and put her head in her hands. "You know the only other person who would risk their life to get payback for what Angelo did to you, even before our boys."

Of course Cookie knew. Deep down, Cookie had known even before Lucious had told her: "The blood of our blood."

TBC


	5. Death Becomes Her

Lucious was right. Anika wasn't in D.C., Chicago or New York. Anika was in a deluxe suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. It could've been the Snooty Fox Motor Inn for all she cared, as Anika was locked in the bathroom, her tongue and gums burning with mouthwash while she scrubbed her skin under a scalding hot shower, trying to feel clean again.

Anika knew that she wasn't going to be able to avoid Angelo for too long before he grew suspicious. So when Angelo not-so-subtlely asked Anika for a blow job just minutes after she stepped into the limo after landing in Toronto, Anika held her breath and put her face in Angelo's lap, holding back her tears.

To remain sane, Anika forced herself to remember the last time she'd done this with a different man, a man with a similar height and build and even skin color, but that wasn't possible. Angelo's hands were too rough, his grip too firm, his eyes so cold that Anika couldn't even hold his gaze. Anika was grateful for the moans and happy sighs coming from Angelo – the sooner she could get this over with, the better. Hating herself every minute, Anika stopped giving Angelo oral sex and started kissing him again, intending to finish him off with her hand.

To Anika's surprise, Angelo grabbed the back of Anika's head and shoved it back into his crotch. "Keep sucking," he ordered, lifting his hips to push his manhood deeper down her throat. Anika's throat and eyes burned as kept sucking and sucking until Angelo gasped and cried out with pleasure as he ejaculated into Anika's mouth, forcing her to either to swallow or choke to death.

Then, just to add to her humiliation, Angelo laughed and laughed as Anika coughed, gasped and finally vomited her breakfast, along with Angelo's semen, all over her dress. "We don't do anything half-assed around here," he teased, handing her some napkins to clean her face with.

Anika was forced to laugh it off herself. "Little out of practice," she explaining, letting her smile mask her tears. The vomit turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Angelo kept his distance for the rest of the ride. After they checked in, Anika was able to stall a second time. "Give me some time to clean myself up, okay?" Anika cooed, stroking Angelo's bulge and blowing him a kiss.

When Angelo left, Anika ran to the bathroom and brushed her teeth until her gums bled. In the shower, Anika snorted the hot water up her nose, gargled it and spit over and over to rid the smell and taste of Angelo from her nose and mouth. The hot water from the shower felt like needles stabbing into her body and face, but she refused to turn on the cold water.

She was in over her head and she knew it. The more Anika thought about it, the dumber she felt. What, exactly, did she expect to happen up here? That Angelo would freely admit his crimes and call Cookie to apologize? That Anika would be able to get his confession on tape and turn it over to the police? That she would tie Angelo up and leave him for the housekeepers?

Anika thought of how she'd gone over to Mimi's apartment with her best financial plan in her portfolio with nothing but business on her mind and wound up back home just like she was here in Toronto – hot water, strong mouthwash and pink bristles on her toothbrush. Now it was about to happen again, for there was no way she would be able to keep from sleeping with Angelo all weekend. And just like with Mimi, it would all be for nothing.

With shaking hands and blistered skin, Anika checked her messages. Four of them from Lucious, one from her mother, two D.C. numbers that she didn't recognize, one from a New Jersey number that she _did_ recognize, and one from Cookie. _They know,_ Anika thought miserably. They all knew that Anika was not in D.C., Chicago or New York, and Anika wasn't sure who was going to take the biggest chunk out of her ass.

 _"First message from...Lucious Lyon. Received - message erased."_ Anika did this twice again.

 _"Next message from...Yolanda Calhoun. Received at 3:50 p.m._ Anika, this is Mommy. Hope you're having fun with your sorority sisters in- _Message erased._ " Maybe her mother didn't know what was going on after all. That was the only good news she'd received all day.

 _"Next message from...202-555-1559. Received at 4:08 p.m._ Mrs. Lyon, my name is Huck. I was with the guys who helped put up the new security system a couple of days ago at your friend's house – a...Cookie Lyon. I think she's your mother-in-law?" ("God forbid, Anika said out loud.) "I got a call from your husband, Lucious Lyon. He is looking for you and- _Message erased."_

 _"Next message from...202-555-4723. Received at 4:38 p.m._ Hi, I'm looking for Anika Lyon. This is Quinn Perkins from Pope and Associates. I received a phone call from- _Message erased."_

 _"Next message from...551-message erased."_ Anika couldn't bear to hear his voice right now, maybe never again. She thought back to the scene in the limo and closed her eyes, letting her tears stream down her face. Not even two months after she'd fallen for the most wonderful man she'd ever known - even if she hadn't programmed his name into her contacts yet - and how did she pay him back? By putting another man's cock in her mouth. "I don't deserve you," Anika said out loud.

 _"Next message from...Cookie Lyon. Received at 5:17 p.m._ Anika, it's Cookie. Listen, I know you're not in D.C. and I know you're not here in New York. Your mom called and said you were in Chicago. I didn't say anything, but I know you're not in Chicago, either. I know you're with Angelo, Anika. I know what you're trying to do."

"Do you?" Anika said out loud. If she did, then Cookie was the only one who knew what Anika was trying to do.

"Look, Anika. Please...please don't, okay? Don't do this. Whatever you're about to do, don't do it, okay? You don't have to do this, whatever you're about to do." Cookie's voice took an odd tone, higher and faster than Anika had ever heard before. "You've seen what he can do. You saw what he did to me, a woman he claims to love. And if he figures out what you're trying to do..."

Was Cookie crying? Anika couldn't tell. "Anika, please be careful, please. Come home. If not for yourself, then do it for your daughter. Give up whatever you're about to do and come home while you still can. Please...blood of my blood...please, Anika! You need to come home!"

"Cookie." Lucious's voice came in from the background. "It's okay...she'll be fine. Anika is smart. She's a survivor."

"No, you don't understand...Lucious." Cookie was definitely crying now. "If he hurts her...if something happens to her..." Cookie's voice was nearly inaudible. "I'll die."

 _"End of message. To erase, press four. To erase, press seven-message erased."_

 _"Next message from...Lucious Lyon. Received at 5:22 p.m."_ For some reason, Anika listened to Lucious's final message. _"_ Anika, it's Lucious. I gotta talk real quick so Cookie doesn't hear me. I got in touch with your D.C. boys. They did some shit with your phone or your phone number – pinging and towers and some shit. They know you're in Toronto. I don't know if you won't call me or if you can't call me. But no matter what, _don't turn off your phone._ As long as your phone is on, we have a chance of finding you. Get in touch with me as soon as you can. We-"

"Who's that?" Angelo stood at the door with room service behind him. "Is something wrong?" he asked, gesturing to room service where to place their steak dinners.

 _"Message erased."_ Until now, Anika only had half a plan at best. That plan was shot to hell the minute she put Angelo's penis in her mouth. But Cookie was the toughest woman Anika knew. If Cookie was telling Anika to get the hell out, that's exactly what Anika planned to do. "I..." _I'm out of here, Angelo. You're a psycho and a creep who raped the blood of my blood. You made me swallow your diseased cum. I hope you die slowly and I hope you die screaming and if there's a God, I hope your death comes at the hands of the blood of my blood._

"Anika?"

Anika flashed Angelo her sweetest smile and measured her words. "I have to fly back to New York, Angelo. I'm so sorry. My daughter is sick and I have to get back to New York right away. Can I get a rain check?"

"A rain check?" Angelo's eyes narrowed. "I have all these plans for us...you said you wanted us to get to know each other better, remember?"

"I do want us to get to know each other better," Anika lied. "And we will. I'm sure Bella didn't mean to get sick."

Angelo tipped the two hotel workers, who nodded and smiled at Anika, then left the room. "Do you know how much money I spent on this getaway for us? The one you insisted on?"

"I'll pay you back, Angelo," Anika assured. "As soon as we get back to New York-"

"Why do you have to go back right now?" Angelo drew Anika close and let his hands run up and down her body. Anika fought not to shudder under his kisses and his touch. "I mean, when is the flight? You can stay with me until then, right?"

"Angelo!" Anika forced a laugh. "I'm hardly thinking about what you're thinking about right now." She kissed Angelo, long and deep, and tried not to throw up again. "Seriously. I need to get out of here."

"At least stay here and eat your dinner!" Anika ignored Angelo. There was no need to pack; other than her toiletries and a few clothes, Anika had yet to unpack. "Are you scared of me?" Angelo asked out of nowhere. "Because of what happened in the limo?"

Anika pulled on a light jacket. "Should I be?" she challenged, trying to keep her voice light. But the mood between them was starting to change. They both felt it. "You didn't notice me choking and gagging while you were shoving my head down your dick."

Angelo let out one of those _heh-heh-getting-ready-to-bullshit_ kind of laughs. "I told you, I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that you were so...unskilled."

"You never told me you were sorry," Anika interrupted angrily. "You laughed at me. You laughed at me while I choked on your cum, remember? I do. I'll never forget it."

"Okay, listen to me then. I'm sorry." Angelo reached for Anika again, but Anika wriggled out of his grasp. "Did you hear me? I'm sorry." He flashed Anika what was supposed to be a charming smile. "Let me make it up to you before you go. We can eat, and then I can eat."

"Are you serious, Angelo?" Anika was beginning to feel as if her child really was sick. Or maybe Angelo knew she was lying. Why couldn't Anika just say _"_ _you're an abusive prick and I don't ever want to see you again"?_ The answer was simple - she, like so many women worldwide, had been taught to be polite, be quiet and not make a fuss. "I'm leaving, Angelo," Anika said slowly. "I'm going home to take care of my daughter."

"No, you're not!" Angelo rushed to block the front door. "You're not going anywhere until we finish what we started in that limo."

Angelo grabbed Anika's purse from the nightstand, then charged across the room. 'Don't!' Anika screamed as her phone, passport and wallet all flew out of the window. _Keep your phone on,_ Lucious had instructed her, but there was no way Anika's phone could survive a six-story fall, not even with it inside her purse. Now she couldn't leave the country even if she could get out the door. Whoever Lucious was sending after her had been cut off from Anika forever.

With Anika's escape back to the United States thwarted, Angelo got back to the task at hand. "Take off your clothes," he ordered.

For some reason, Cookie's words began to echo in Anika's mind. _You don't have to do this, whatever you're about to do._ "No."

Angelo's nostrils flared. "Take off your clothes," he ordered again, slower this time.

Anika looked Angelo square in the eye. "No," she repeated, just as slowly. "I'm going home, Angelo." Anika felt strangely calm, maybe because she was so determined to go home. Not for her sake, but for Cookie's. _If something happens to her,_ _I'll die_.

The two stared each other down for a long time. Without warning, Angelo landed a punch to Anika's stomach. Anika fell to her knees, but Angelo jerked Anika back to her feet. _"Take them off!"_ he screamed, spittle flying everywhere as he cocked his fist back.

A smarter woman would've made better decisions that day. Then again, a smarter woman would have never been in this situation in the first place. "No," Anika said for the third time. "I'm going home, Angelo."

In response, Angelo punched Anika so hard in the face that she didn't feel it until she came to. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she would've cried out in pain if she could have. Earlier, Anika was thinking that she had to make it out of this room come hell or high water. But seeing the way Angelo was pacing back and forth let Anika know that Angelo had no intentions of Anika leaving this room alive. it was one thing to have beaten Lucious ex-wife - Anika had helped him out of that jam. But now Anika sported similar injuries. No matter if Anika covered for Angelo or not, Lucious would know where the bruises and cuts came from.

 _If something happens to her..._

Even in immense pain, Anika was quick. She sprang to her feet, ignoring the pain in the rest of her body. But Angelo was quicker. He rushed towards her and threw Anika to the ground in a heartbeat. "Please..." was all Anika managed to get out before Angelo covered her face with a pillow.

 _...I'll die._

"I'm sorry, Anika...I'm so sorry." The bastard had the nerve to be crying while he was trying to kill her. "Oh, my God...Anika, I'm sorry." Angelo _was_ sorry, too, genuinely sorry that he had to kill Anika. In another world, in another time, Angelo would've married Anika and given her the world. Right now, it was merely a matter of Angelo's life versus Anika's. And they both knew who Angelo valued more.

* * *

The tight grip against Angelo's arm grew weaker and weaker. Finally, Anika's hand let go of Angelo's wrist and her body went still. Angelo held the pillow to her face a little longer, just to be sure. Then he pulled it away from Anika's face. It was pale, her eyes glassy, her mouth slack. Such a beautiful face! But in a few hours, it would sport signs of Angelo's rage. That was why Anika had to die. Truly, it was nothing personal.

"I'm so sorry," Angelo said again through his tears. He fumbled with his phone, and his eyes blurred with tears as he flipped through his personal contacts until he found the one he was looking for. "Come on, _c'mon!"_ he muttered. After what felt like ages, the other line picked up. "Mama?" Angelo asked urgently, filled with relief.

"Angelo!" Diana said happily. "My baby boy. How are you, son?"

She sounded so glad to hear from him that Angelo hated to let her down yet again. "I...I did something bad, Mama. I need your help. Please."

The joy in Diana's voice was gone as she let out a weary sigh. "What now, Angelo?" she asked warily. "What did you do-wait, where are you?"

"I'm in Toronto with Anika Lyon-"

"Lucious Lyon's wife?" Diana asked, astonished. "What the hell are you doing with her?"

"Just getting to know her better. Mama, she came at me with a knife, and...I had to protect myself, Mama. I had to-"

"Oh, save it, Angelo," Diana snapped. "How many times can you keep getting into situations like this. huh? Wasn't it Lucious's ex-wife just a couple of days ago? Now this! I'm sick of cleaning up your mistakes, Angelo. This time, you're going to fix this your-"

"She's dead, Mama," Angelo interrupted. "I had to," he continued when there was silence on the other end of the line. "Mama, I had to. She was trying to kill me!" Still nothing. "Hello?" Angelo said desperately. "Mama? Hello!?" Had she hung up on him?

"Where are you?" Diana breathed, and Angelo could hear the fear in her voice.

"The Four Seasons in Toronto. Mama, please help-"

"Get your stuff and get out of there," Diana ordered quickly. "You have to get back to the United States. Get all your stuff and get the hell out of there! Now!"

 _Thank God!_ Angelo turned around to grab his stuff just in time to take a heavy lamp straight across the face from Anika, who was very much alive.

* * *

All Anika's life, she'd been a swimmer. And for years, she hated her coaches for making them do all types of drills and exercises to expand their lung capacity. But now, nearly 20 years later, Anika could still hold her breath for three minutes. "Cookie would've knocked your ass out," Anika commented, breathing heavily. "Guess I'll have to try it again!"

Angelo scrambled for safety on the other side of the bed. "Anika, listen. Just-just listen-" he pleaded.

"Do I look like one of your voters? Look at me, Angelo! Look at my face!" Anika pointed to her rapidly swelling eye. " _You did that!_ All I wanted to do was to go home! You tried to kill me because I wanted to go home?!"

When Angelo grabbed at Anika yet again, Anika didn't curl up in fear like Angelo thought she would. She kicked and screamed. She raked her nails across Angelo's face and bit anything that came her way. Angelo tried to pin both of her wrists down, but he couldn't do much more. They fought and scrambled, pushed and pulled, both fighting and fighting to get to the table where the steak dinners were. The one who made it to the table would get the knives, and Anika knew it had to be her.

 _If something happens to her..._

But Angelo was just a little bit faster. "You Lyon bitches," he slurred triumphantly, backhanding Anika once again. She flew back against the dresser. "You need to be taught a lesson, just like Cookie did. It's time you learn your place." Angelo's bloody smile combined with a knife in his right hand made him even more frightening. He hurled the left knife into the bathroom, far out of Anika's reach. "Now. Take...off...your clothes before I cut them off your body."

 _...I'll die._

Defeated, Anika began to undress. Angelo's eyes grew wider at the sight of Anika's firm, toned body. He ripped his shirt off, then his undershirt. Under his clothes, Angelo was a magnificent specimen. "Like what you see?" he mocked.

"It's a shame that such a beautiful body belongs to such a hideous man." Anika said flippantly, no longer caring about what was about to happen to her. She thought of a line from Game of Thrones: _I fought. I lost. Now I rest._ Anika had definitely fought and lost, that was for sure. What came next was out of her control.

Angelo's smile faded. Fear filled Anika's body as Angelo unbuckled his leather belt, then wrapped it around his hand as if Anika was a small child waiting to be whipped. "No more of your backtalk." Angelo removed his pants and pulled his cock out of his boxers. "Please," Anika whispered, horrified as Angelo moved towards her. "Use a condom," she begged.

"A condom?" Angelo laughed like she'd made the most ridiculous request in the world. "You're gonna have my baby, Anika. Once I kick Cookie's decrepit ass to the curb, you're going to give me a son."

One minute he was trying to kill her, the next minute he was trying to breed her. "I'd rather be dead than bring a child of yours into this world," Anika spat.

Angelo flashed the steak knife in his right hand. "We can do that, too." He lunged towards Anika, who held up her arm to protect her face. She barely felt the steel splitting open the skin on her forearm or the heat of the blood bubbling from her arm.

Suddenly, Angelo sprang to his feet, grabbing at his back. He let out a small squeak of air, then keeled over, unmoving. "Angelo?" Anika whispered, daring to poke his shoulder. "Angelo?" Was Angelo having a seizure? Had he passed out from dehydration? _And why am I asking myself these questions?_ Anika didn't know what just happened and she didn't care. All she knew was that she had to get out of that room.

Anika scrambled to her feet to run, then froze once more. She still wasn't going to leave after all. Assassin-quiet and just as inconspicuous, a man dressed in black with his face covered glided across the room and brushed past Anika as if she wasn't even there. He set a small tube down on the hotel dresser, knelt beside Angelo, extracted a three-inch tranquilizer dart from the back of his spine, then felt for a pulse. Not liking the results, he went into his inner suit pocket, pulled out a syringe with gloved hands, and plunged it into Angelo's thigh.

Even Anika's frightened scream didn't distract the man, who observed Angelo sit up suddenly, take a sharp intake of air and begin to convulse. Calmly, the man pulled out another needle, carefully injected a substance in the side of Angelo's neck and laid him back down on the ground. Now Angelo was still again, but audibly breathing. Whoever had sent this man to capture Angelo DuBois wanted Angelo captured alive.

With Angelo taken care of, the man turned his attention to Anika. When he finally removed his mask, Anika gasped. He didn't resemble Angelo, _per se,_ but they shared similar traits – same height and build, same rich chocolate skin, same dark brown eyes. But while Angelo wore his emotions on his sleeve, this man's expression was as unreadable as it usually was. "It's not what it looks like," Anika pleaded, scrambling to her feet. She reached out and grabbed for him for support. "I swear to God, it's not-"

The man cut Anika off when he wrapped his arms protectively around her battered body and crushed her lips against his. Anika ignored the pain from her sliced-opened arm and the faint taste of her own blood. She was still trembling when they finally came up for air, his body still warm against hers. "How did you find me?" Anika asked, not believing that she was safe. Or was she?

The man reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a purse - Anika's purse, the one that Angelo had thrown out the window. Inside was Anika's wallet, her passport, and a cell phone cushioned in a titanium case, one that had been designed just for Anika. Other than a cracked screen - ironic, since the case was designed _because_ Anika kept cracking her screen - Anika's phone was perfectly functional. It hadn't turned off after all.

Between the D.C. boys with their pings and towers and Anika with her impenetrable fortress-type cell phone case, Anika's location could've been found by anybody with a third-rate GPS. "I'll be damned," Anika said aloud. She looked up from her phone and into her rescuer's eyes, eyes that twinkled as he finally gave Anika that beautiful smile that she'd fallen in love with.

"Call Lucious," was all Malcolm said.

TBC


	6. Angel of Mercy

_If something happens to her, I'll die._

As the sun set in Toronto, three men made their way through the Four Seasons hotel with a description for a young woman. Fair skinned (possibly biracial), average height, and dead. 614 was the room number. The room key would be at the front desk. The supplies in their truck included garbage bag linings, a few tools for dismembering - inducing a few that would cut through bone - and lime. Their instructions were to remove the body and dispose of it. it wasn't important how or how long. Just as long as the body eventually disappeared.

The key was where it was supposed to be, and the men entered the room with ease. But instead of the body of a dead, biracial young woman, the room was empty, immaculate. "You think we got the wrong room?" one of Diana's men asked.

"Nah, man. It's definitely 614."

"This can't be right, man." There was no trace of a body in the room, or even a fight. The beds were made, the furniture was polished, the bathroom was sparkling clean and the refrigerator was filled with liquor. "We _have_ to have the wrong room," another man said.

"No," the first man said grimly. "It's definitely this one." He walked over to a nightstand and picked up a lamp. "Oh, no," another man said. Nearly every four-star hotel in the country had at least two lamps in a room. This room only had one. The other lamp was gone.

 _Fwip! Fwip!_

When the men woke up hours later, rubbing the still-throbbing pinpricks in their backs, it was the middle of the night. Next to each aching head was a large stack of cash, far more than Diana was paying them. **LEAVE** , said the money wrapper that was holding the money together, and that's exactly what Diana's goons did. For doing absolutely nothing but getting shot with a blow dart and sleeping for a few hours, the men picked up six figures just to go back to New York and tell Diana the truth: "She wasn't there."

* * *

 _If something happens to her, I'll die._

Once the adrenaline of the fight with Angelo wore off, every part of Anika's body was in excruciating pain. Two areas were particularly painful- her left eye, which she could barely see through, and the right side of her body, which felt like with warm water that wouldn't shut off. Anikawas also having trouble with her mouth, which didn't seem to want to close itself correctly. Yet trying to move her jaw around so her teeth could align themselves again was agonizing.

All Anika wanted to do was lie down, but she was surrounded with people from Malcolm's squad - people who had moved her to another room, people who were cleaning and paying the right people to look the other way, people who were keeping her safe from people who wanted her to disappear forever. "I need to take a look at that arm, ma'am," a baby-faced young doctor said, interrupting Anika's thoughts.

Anika noticed the troubled look on the woman's face as she lifted Anika's arm as far as she could lift it before the pain became too much. It, too, felt wet and warm. Even through one eye, Anika could see the woman's hands slick with fresh blood. Anika had known all along that she would need stitches in her right arm where Angelo had cut her, but she was nervous about the fact that it was still bleeding. "I'm sorry," she apologized, and her tongue felt thick with swelling. "I'll buy you new clothes to replace the ones I've ruined."

The woman only nodded. "I need all males to clear the room," she announced loudly to the other members of Malcolm's squad. "We're going to need to remove your dress to your waist, Anika. Would you be okay with Malcolm staying here, or would you like him to leave as well?"

Anika shook her head; by now, her jaw hurt too much to talk. Malcolm hadn't said a word to Anika since they'd switched rooms to hide her from the men that they knew were coming to take her away. Was he angry with her? Malcolm seemed to be happy to see her just 10 minutes ago. Now Malcolm stood to the side, not even helping the woman remove the top of Anika's dress. When it was around Anika's waist, Malcolm actually turned his back to her, as if he couldn't bear to see the injuries on her body.

Anika let out a soft scream when the woman gently touched her side, then grimaced and swallowed back spit. Every touch on Anika's body felt like the doctor was jamming hot needles all over her body, especially when she ran her hands over Anika's lips, cheeks and throat. She frowned deeply. "You're definitely going to need stitches to close up this wound on your arm, and that's going to require a tetanus - Malcolm, _no!"_

Anika turned her head just in time to see Malcolm plunge a syringe into her shoulder. The effect was immediate. _"Malcolm?"_ was all Anika could get out before the world began to fade. The last thing Anika heard was the panicked voice of Dr. Harper: "Malcolm! _What the hell did you just do!?"_

* * *

 _If something happens to her, I'll die._

Lucious was the one who ran out to meet Anika at an undisclosed location while Cookie took Bella to her grandmother's house (and ignored the not-so-subtle shade Mrs. Calhoun threw her away about the clothes Cookie had packed for Bella). "She's not conscious," Lucious told Cookie over the phone. "She was sedated so they could put her on the plane. She'll probably still be sleeping when the doctors bring her to your house."

Cookie didn't catch all of Lucious's words at the time, the words that would've let Cookie know that he wasn't coming back with Anika. "How bad is it, Lucious? Be honest."

A pause. "It's bad, Cookie," Lucious said sadly. "That's all I know."

 _Nothing_ could have prepared Cookie for when Anika's body was brought through her front door on a stretcher, complete with a doctor, an emergency dentist and two armed security guards. Angelo had often remarked that he would never hit Cookie in the face ("I have to look at you all day," he'd told her once), but Anika had been shown no such mercy. Her left eye was swollen completely shut, and her right arm sported fresh stitches from the back of her wrist clean up to her elbow. Even though she was sleeping, Anika's mouth was oddly shaped, not to mention bruised and bleeding.

"We've wired her jaw shut," Dr. Rodriguez explained to Cookie. "We're not sure if there's a fracture or not - this is just a precautionary action. If you can get her to a doctor or a dentist with an X-Ray, it could be removed as early as tomorrow."

That wasn't even the worst of it. In the midst of their battle, Anika had been stabbed; her adrenaline was running so high that she hadn't felt it right away. It was the large, bloodied gauze taped to Anika's left side that made Cookie clamp her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. When the doctors pulled it away to clean and redress the wound, Cookie ran out of her apartment and out of the building. Cookie knew a stab wound when she saw one.

Cookie ran all the way to the apartment's Olympic-sized swimming pool. She jumped into the water and sank as far as her body could go, and screamed and screamed until she nearly blacked out from lack of oxygen. Finally, Cookie surfaced, swam over to the pool's ladder, collapsed on the deck and cried herself sick. She was the one who brought Angelo into everyone's life. And as badly as Angelo had hurt Cookie over the months, it was Anika who had paid the steepest price.

Dr. Harper was waiting when a wet and cold Cookie finally came back to her apartment. She didn't ask Cookie why she was soaked to her skin in the middle of the night in October, and she didn't flinch when Cookie stripped naked without warning and rummaged around for some dry sweats. "Try your best to keep Mrs. Lyon from talking...Mrs. Lyon."

"Call me Cookie."

"Okay, Cookie. I'm sorry, but I didn't catch the other Mrs. Lyon's relation to you."

Cookie looked over to her granddaughter's mother, still sedated, bleeding and broken. The blood of her blood. "She's my daughter."

Dr. Harper nodded. "Well, sleep is the best thing for your daughter right now. No amount of pain meds or other medication will help her heal more. If Mrs. Lyon-"

"Anika," Cookie corrected, though she wasn't sure why. Anika was Lucious's wife, after all.

"If Anika wakes up, don't give her anything to put her back to sleep. Let her go back on her own, if you can."

"Is warm tea okay? Like Sleepy Time Tea?"

"If she can swallow it. If you have a straw for her to sip through, that would be great. Mild soup would be good, too. As I said before, I think the jaw just has a slight fracture, maybe not even that. If Anika happens to wake up, _please_ be sure to keep her calm. Explain what is going on, but I wouldn't go into detail about her injuries until she's awake and coherent. Be sure to talk about Malcolm tranq'ing her. I don't agree with it, per se, but I can't say I blame him."

"I'm sorry...I don't follow. Are you telling me that Anika didn't agree to be sedated?" Lucious had made it sound like the doctors had put her under, or perhaps that's what he was told.

"Afraid so. When Malcolm saw she'd been stabbed, he knew he couldn't tell her how serious things were, then put him on a plane without him on it. Could you imagine what might've happened if Anika hadn't been put under? _'Excuse me, it turns out that you've also been stabbed, your eye socket is shattered, and we think your jaw might be broken. Could you sit here so we can wire your jaw shut before you've had the chance to ask any questions?'_ Anika never would've gotten on the plane, and I can't say I would blame her."

That might have been true, but it still didn't sit right with Cookie. "When is my husband - I mean my ex-husband coming back?" she asked as she walked Dr. Harper to the door. "Is he still at the hospital, or...?"

"Last I remember, he was contacting a pilot for an emergency flight to Toronto. Something about typing up a few loose ends. I assume he went to ask some questions with Mr. DeVeaux about what happened. Perhaps they may even find the person who did this." As Cookie's heart sank, Cookie heard the doctor say under her breath, "I hope they kill the bastard."

* * *

 _If something happens to her, I'll die._

Angelo woke up in a cold sweat, then took a second to let his mind clear. _Anika!_ That's why he was here. Lucious's half-breed bitch had brought this on. Cock-teasing little cunt messing with his mind, sucking dick one minute, then running away the next. Now she was gone...gone? Diana had told him that she would take care of it. But the room was a mess then. Now it was in order...except a lamp was missing.

Angelo stood on wobbly legs and looked around. Had he dreamed the whole thing? The reflection in the mirror told another story. "Beat up from the feet up," Angelo said aloud. Blood splatters were all over Angelo's ripped, torn clothing. Scratches adorned his face. His head was pounding. There was a knot in the small of his back that hurt like hell, not to mention an even larger knot on his head.

Dream or no dream, the first thing Angelo knew he needed to do was change his clothes. Carefully, Angelo checked the bathroom. Clean as a whistle, just like everything else in the suite. Angelo showered and changed quickly, wondering what to do with his bloody clothes. _Better take them with me and throw them away somewhere else._

Angelo crept out of the bathroom and looked around yet again. Nothing. Dashing around the suite, Angelo put on his shoes and looked around one more time, just to make sure he wasn't leaving anything. He had no idea what was real and what wasn't anymore. All Angelo knew was that his mother had told him to get the hell out of the hotel, and that was exactly what Angelo was going to do.

"Going somewhere?"

Angelo's blood ran cold, and he turned around slowly. Sitting casually, as if he was waiting for his evening meal, was none other than Lucious Lyon. "You sleep a lot," Lucious commented. "But I guess you burn a lot of energy beating up women, don't you?"

 _Don't panic,_ Angelo thought frantically. Lucious was nothing but an uneducated thug with a ton of pride. He could talk his way out of this, especially if he went after Lucious's ego. "So what kind of lies brought you all the way to Toronto?" Angelo asked, trying to sound casual. "Let me guess. Your wife claims that I hurt her, right?" Since Lucious wasn't exploding yet, Angelo dare to keep talking. "Did Anika tell you that she told me that you two were separated?"

Lucious sat up, his brows knitted. "Word?"

 _Got him!_ "She was the one who came on to me," Angelo continued. "You know I never would've tried to get with Anika if I'd known you were still together, man. That's not my style. And I know Cookie told you that she broke off our engagement, Lucious, but that's just not true. I broke it off with her. And she started talking about how I wasn't going to walk away from her. Jumping all on my back and hitting me..."

Lucious chuckled. "Sounds like Cookie, all right."

"I had to defend myself, Lucious. Anything else that happened to her, she had to have done it to herself in order to make me look bad. I swear that on my mother."

Lucious nodded. "Speaking of your mother...you sleeping with Anika, trying to destroy my family and everything, I know that was her idea. Not yours. Stop." Lucious held up his hand when Angelo tried to deny Lucious's words. "Just stop. Don't insult my intelligence. We're going to talk this out like men - no Cookie, no Anika, nobody's mama. And then we're going to make peace so nobody gets hurt again."

"You're really going to blame this on me, Lucious?" It was time to hit Lucious in the ego again. "Let's say you're right, Lucious. Let's say that I did bring Anika up here to ruin your marriage. Maybe it was because my mama said so or maybe it's because I wanted to tap that ass...whatever. But ask yourself this, Lucious. What was Anika's motivation? Why was she here with me?" Lucious's eyes flickered. Obviously, he hadn't considered that angle. "Is she working with my mother, too?"

Lucious thought it over. "No," he finally agreed. "No, I guess you're right."

"You know I'm right, Lucious." There was light at the end of the tunnel, and Angelo was so close to getting out of this room alive. "You know that I'm telling you the truth. Are you really going to kill me on the word of a whore who had a baby with your son?"

"Who said anything about killing you?" another voice asked.

 _Fwip!_

* * *

 _If something happens to her…_

For hours, Cookie watched Anika sleep. When she tossed and turned listlessly, Cookie would walk over to her bed and rub her head or her back until she went back to sleep, almost like she would with Bella. Cookie knew that Anika was restless with pain, and in time, she would wake up.

Around midnight, while Cookie was fixing herself some tea, Anika finally did. The sounds of her restrained screamed tore through the air. "Anika, Anika!" Cookie ran into the room. "Anika, it's me. It's Cookie, Anika. Please, calm down." Anika's eyes grew wide, and she jerked her head around. "I need you to calm down and listen to me. Can you do that, Anika?"

Terrified, but trusting of Cookie, Anika nodded. She tried to take a deep breath, but found that she couldn't open her mouth. Cookie took both her hands and squeezed them. "Anika, you're in New York. Remember the system that Malcolm built to protect me from Angelo?" Anika nodded. "Well, it's protecting you too right now. Bella is with your mother. Everybody is safe, baby.

Anika absorbed all that information. "Mmmm?" Anika pointed to her jaw and frowned.

"It's wired shut," Cookie explained. "The doctors didn't know whether your jaw was broken or not, so they wired it just to be safe. We need to take you to a doctor to get it x-rayed tomorrow. If it's not, they'll remove the wires." Cookie handed Anika the pad of paper and a pen. "In the meantime, don't talk, okay? If you need more paper, I'll get it."

Anika took a moment to get her thoughts together. **MALCOLM?** Anika scribbled on the paper, then held up her hand and pretended to give herself a shot. "You want to know why Malcolm sedated you?" Anika nodded vigorously. Malcolm's shot had hurt more than anything Angelo had done to her. "Malcolm saw you had a lot of injuries and he was afraid you wouldn't get on the plane if you knew you had them." As instructed, Cookie didn't go into details with Anika about her injuries.

Anika frowned. "He..." she nearly said, but her jaw made it impossible. _He didn't have the right to do that,_ Anika thought angrily. _He had no right to take that choice away from me._ "I know he shouldn't have done that," Cookie said, as if she could read Anika's mind. "But Malcolm's heart was in the right place, Anika. Like Lucious says, sometimes you have to ask for forgiveness, not permission." Cookie squeezed Anika's hands again, then drew her into a hug. "Can you find it in your heart to forgive Malcolm?" she asked, trying to hold back her tears as Anika's flowed freely.

Anika nodded vigorously, sat up and dried her eyes. **LUCIOUS?**

"Lucious flew to Toronto," Cookie answered. "I'm pretty sure he's with Malcolm." Anika's face crumpled, and Cookie took her in her arms again. She knew what Anika was thinking. So many times, Lucious had left Cookie to take care of this thing and that thing, and so many times, Cookie had prayed not only for his safe return, but that his deeds would go uncaught.

"I'm sorry," Anika apologized through a clenched jaw. "This is all my fault..."

"Try not to talk," Cookie reminded Anika, but she saw that Anika was going to ignore her. "Anika, what were you thinking?" she asked gently, stroking Anika's damp curls.

"I don't know," Anika wept. "I...I just wanted to know _why_. I don't know what I would've done with the information, but...I just wanted to know why he would hurt you like that. And I _still_ don't know."

"Did he..." Cookie couldn't bear to ask such a question, but she had to know. "Did he hurt you, Anika?"

It was obvious that Cookie was talking about a different kind of hurt, not the hurt that was written all over Anika's body. Anika shook her head. She didn't look Cookie in the eye, though, and Cookie's heart sank, especially when Anika burst into tears all over again. "It's okay," Cookie assured Anika, rocking her back and forth. "This isn't your fault. It's _not,"_ she insisted when Anika tried to take blame. "Nobody has the right to do what Angelo did to you, Anika, no matter what you did."

"You either," Anika mumbled. She laid back down. "Stay," she said as she laid down. "Stay with me until I fall asleep."

Anika didn't sleep for long. Over the hours, Anika would wake up in terrible pain. Cookie spent the rest of the night fixing tea and broth, bringing Anika ice for jaw, and absorbing Anika's tears in her nightgown. Finally, Cookie broke down and cried herself. The women held each other and sobbed, not just for themselves, but for the men they loved, out to avenge them when all the women really wanted was their men by their sides.

There _was_ one small victory that night. Something _had_ happened to Anika, just as Cookie had prayed wouldn't happen. But Cookie hadn't died after all. She had survived. Anika had survived. When the tears were gone, Cookie and Anika could celebrate the fact that they'd survived with the help of one another. And that's exactly how Cookie and Anika would heal. Together.

* * *

 _"Aaaagggh!"_

Writhing on the floor, Angelo rolled over to to face the man who had just shot him in the chest with a blow dart. He looked vaguely familiar, but Angelo couldn't place him, especially not while he was twitching on the ground. "Agh! _Aggggh!"_

Lucious walked over to Angelo and knelt by his side. "Nice shot," Lucious admired as Angelo rolled around in great pain. "Dead center. Angelo," Lucious said cheerfully, "meet Malcolm DeVeaux." He gestured upwards toward the other man, who was standing menacingly above him. "Navy SEAL, war hero and a good friend of Cookie's. He's also a beast with a blow gun, in case you didn't notice."

Now Angelo knew who the man was. This was the charbroiled asshole who had dismissed him from Cookie's apartment a couple of days ago. "Lucky for you," Lucious continued as he stood back up, "Malcolm is a lover, not a killer. That's why you just got hit with a tranquilizer dart full of tetrodotoxin and not a .45. Stand up, please."

Not only was Angelo struggling to stand, he was struggling to breathe. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and his limbs felt as if they were working against him. "I can't!" Angelo finally cried out from the floor. "I can't move!" He stared disbelievingly at his feet, which were twitching and flopping uncontrollably.

Lucious sighed loudly. "Malcolm?"

Malcolm stepped forward, brought Angelo to his feet and guided him the nearest chair, gently removing the dart in his chest before stepping back to Lucious's side. It was such a bizarre showing, as if Malcolm DeVeaux was Lucious's mad dog. He said nothing, not even moving without Lucious's permission and only doing exactly what Lucious told him to do. It was more than just following orders - the man seemed downright lobotomized.

Lucious sat back down in his chair, while Malcolm leaned up against a wall, ready for his next set of marching orders. "Now Angelo, I need you to listen to me right now." Lucious's voice was kind, but Angelo knew that his glib words and sly mind games had no place in this conversation right now. "From what Malcolm tells me, tetrodotoxin does all kinds of nasty shit. Paralysis, respiratory failure, seizures, diarrhea...although I guess shitting your pants is about to be the least of your problems."

Lucious leaned back, never taking his eyes off Angelo, who was growing more and more frightened by the minute. Lucious might have been a killer, but at least he would just shoot you. Malcolm, on the other hand, seemed to be a lot more creative with his methods of murder. "Malcolm, about how long does it take for this tetrodotoxin stuff to kick in?"

"About 20 minutes or so," Malcolm answered.

"And how long does it take to kill a man?"

Malcolm shrugged. "Four hours, maybe more."

"Four hours...maybe more." Lucious whistled. "And you say he'll be conscious the entire time?"

"Until his last breath, whenever that might be."

"Until your last breath." Lucious let those words sink in. "Do you hear that, Angelo?" he asked as Angelo trembled - from fear or from the toxin, no one could tell. "You'll be paralyzed. You'll be suffocating. But you'll be conscious all the way to the end. You're going to die a long, slow, shitty death unless you answer a few questions and you answer them _honestly_. If you tell me another bullshit story like you did earlier, I'm going to kill you where you sit." Lucious looked at his watch. "By my count, you've got about...18 minutes. So let's not waste any time, okay? Your life might depend on it."

"My life is already over, isn't it?" Angelo asked miserably.

"That's all up to you, Angelo. Let's get started." Lucious stood and walked up to Angelo's chair. "Easy answers first. Did you hit Cookie?"

"Lucious, man," Angelo tried to explain. "We were arguing and-"

"Time, Angelo," Lucious said irritably. "You might want to give shorter answers."

"Yes," Angelo confessed quickly. "We were fighting and I was defending myself."

"Fine, whatever." Lucious waved his hand. "Did you break off the engagement, or did Cookie break it off?"

"She-" The more Angelo tried to breathe, the harder it was to do so. "She did. She broke it off."

"And you beat her because of it?"

Angelo's breaths were getting shorter and shorter. "Like I said-"

"Yes or no," Lucious cut off. "I got a lot more questions and you look like you're running out of air."

"Y-yes!" Angelo finally confessed. "I beat her!"

"Why?" Lucious asked quietly. "Why did you beat the love of my life, Angelo? How could you look at her sweet face and want to hurt her. Why did you do that?" Lucious was beginning to lose control, and Malcolm moved between himself and Angelo. It was important that Lucious not lay his hands on Angelo. ( _The irony,_ Malcolm thought bitterly.) "Why did you do that to her, huh? _How could you do that to Cookie!?"_

"I was mad!" Lucious's eyes flared as the truth - the full truth - came out at last. "You nearly killed Cookie because you were _mad?"_ he demanded to know.

"I was angry with her for abandoning me! You can understand that better than anybody, can't you, Lucious? You know what it's like to have her leave you!"

"I've never been mad enough at Cookie to put my hands on her," Lucious hissed. "Don't you ever put how you felt about Cookie that night with anything I've felt for her. And what about Anika? I know you didn't give a damn if _she_ left you."

 _Goddamn it, Anika._ He hadn't even thought about Anika. "Lucious!" Angelo cried. "I can't answer your questions if I can't breathe! _Please!"_

Lucious sighed impatiently. "You got a point. Stick him, Malcolm."

"Wait! _Wait!_ " Malcolm stabbed Angelo in the side of his neck - none too gently - and slung him back on the sofa. It took a minute, but eventually Angelo realized that he was going to live. Gratefully, he took in large breaths of air, even gulping it down. It never seemed like enough for his burning lungs.

Out of patience now, Lucious stormed up to Angelo and grabbed him by the collar. He was sick of Angelo's lies and wanted nothing more than to have Angelo out of his face forever. "Something interesting happened before I flew here, Angelo. While you were trying to kill my wife, Cookie was pleading for mercy for you. For _you_ , Angelo. The woman you beat and raped and infected asked me to give you a free pass. You know why?"

Angelo had no clue why, and thus, no answer. "Because Cookie is a better person than any of us will ever be, that's why." Lucious flung Angelo to the ground and stood over him menacingly. "You always thought you was better than me, Angelo. You think you're smarter than _everybody_. But from the minute I met you, I _knew_ you was a fake. See, I got my education from the streets. And my baby Cookie? She got book sense _and_ street sense.

"Now, this one here-" Lucious gestured to Malcolm - "ain't got _no_ kind of sense, from what I can see. But he's ruthless as hell, Angelo. And he never misses a target. What's that thing you all say in the navy, Malcolm?"

"One shot, one kill," Malcolm answered.

"One shot, one kill," Lucious repeated. "But like I said, Angelo, Malcolm is a man of peace. I'm not, of course. You know that. But there's something else at stake here." Lucious clenched his teeth and shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what was about to happen. "Cookie said that she knows I love her enough to kill for her. She asked me if I loved her enough not to kill her for her. And while you were taking your little nap, I thought about it. I thought about it for hours, Angelo. And you know what?"

When Angelo didn't answer, Malcolm slapped him upside the head. "What?" Angelo asked quickly, not daring to rub his stinging scalp.

Lucious leaned as close to Angelo as he could. "I do, Angelo. I love Cookie more than I love myself. So I will abide by Cookie's wishes." Lucious's voice grew even colder as Angelo's jaw dropped. _"I will show you mercy."_

 _Mercy._ Lucious was going to let him live. This brainless monster with his toxins was going to let him live. "There's a limo waiting for you downstairs," Lucious informed Angelo. "It's going to take you your mother's house up in New York. Once you get back home, you're going to tell her your mother that her whole plan for destroying my family is _over_. Malcolm's uncle is the driver, so don't think you're going to be able to pay him off."

Lucious let Angelo's shirt go. "You're not going to be the mayor of New York City, Angelo," he reiterated to Angelo. "You're not going to be Cookie's husband. Your career as you know it is over. Everything you've worked for all your life is over. _That_ is your punishment for what you've done to Cookie. Now get the hell out of my face before I change my mind. Get your shit and _get...out."_

Angelo got out. Still overloaded with poisons, he fell to his feet and half-scrambled, half-crawled out the door, far too slow for Malcolm's liking. " _Move_ , motherfucker!" The boom of Malcolm's voice combined with the sound of Lucious's his laughter scared Angelo more than anything that had happened all day. "Hey, Malcolm?" Lucious asked when Angelo was out of earshot.

"Yeah?"

Lucious smiled. Just as Cookie had asked, Lucious had shown mercy to Angelo on her behalf. Anika, on the other hand, had asked Lucious for no such favor. And for Anika's sake, no mercy would be shown to Angelo DuBois. "Tell your uncle to make sure Angelo's body is never found."

* * *

"Malcolm!" The well-dressed older man greeted his nephew with a handshake and a warm hug. "I haven't seen you in I don't know how long! How have you been, son? Looking like your daddy for all the world."

"I've been fine, Uncle Eli." Malcolm gestured to a still-groggy Angelo. "This is Angelo DuBois, the Democratic candidate for-"

"Boy, I know who he is!" Eli shook hands with Angelo. "Good to meet you, Mr. Mayor!" he said with a broad smile. "If you wind up being mayor, maybe I'll move back to New York after all." He picked up a bag and carried them to the trunk, while Malcolm took another. "How is your lady, Malcolm? Is Anika doing okay!"

 _Anika!_ A panicked Angelo looked towards Malcolm, filled with a new fear. "She got into an accident, Uncle Eli. But she's going to be okay." Malcolm cracked a rare smile. "She's got me to take care of her."

"Gonna give her some of that sexual healin', huh?"

Malcolm laughed, then shot Angelo a look to let him know he should laugh as well. "A gentleman never tells, Unc," he deflected. "But let's just say I intend to hold up the family name."

More laughter. "I better get out of here," Eli said. "Wouldn't want to be late for Mr. Lucious. He give you anything to give to me? Any instructions?"

Malcolm handed Uncle Eli a sealed envelope. "Mr. Mayor, there's all kind of drinks in the back if you wanna get comfortable while I finish talkin' to my nephew. It won't be long, I promise. I know how busy a man like you has to be!"

Angelo froze. The look on Malcolm's face made it clear what Angelo should do. Angelo got into the limo and, with shaking hands, fixed himself a drink. He watched as Eli opened the envelope Malcolm had given him, nodded, then handed it back to Malcolm. "Let Lucious know it'll be done exactly how he wants," he heard Eli say, and Angelo's heart sank. He was hoping this old man could be talked into doing what Angelo wanted him to do, since he liked Angelo so much. But there was no getting past the wishes of Lucious Lyon.

Nephew and uncle hugged again. As Eli got into the driver's seat, Malcolm knocked on the window, gesturing for Angelo to open the door and step back out. As Malcolm pulled Angelo into a fake hug, he whispered in Angelo's ear: _"Understand something, Angelo. Understand that you live by the grace of Cookie Lyon."_

 _Cookie_. The woman he'd once loved, the woman he'd wanted to marry - still wanted to marry, to be honest. A spark of rage filled Angelo's body. Who the hell was Lucious Lyon to say what Angelo could and couldn't do? He'd dedicated his entire life to politics, and now Lucious thought he could take it all away? For what? Some cheap bitch like Anika Lyon? _To hell with that stupid street nigger!_ Angelo thought angrily. He'd go back, all right. And with the help of Diana and his other brothers and sisters, they would come up with a way to defeat the Lyons once and for all.

"'Ey, Mr. DuBois!" Eli called from the front of the limousine. "Do you mind if I listen to my gospel music? I can put up the partition for you and let you get some rest. I know you must be tired."

"Sure thing." Angelo removed his shoes and propped his feet up on the seat in front of him. He could use a drink and a nap. "I'm sorry," he said as he drank his Crown Royal and fixed another. He was beginning to feel calmer already. "I'm sorry...I didn't catch your name? I can't imagine you'd want me to call you Uncle Eli."

Eli's eyes met Angelo's in the rear view mirror. "Oh," he said lightly as the partition rolled up, and Angelo could've swear Eli's voice grew sharper and more articulate. "Everybody calls me Papa Pope."

TBC


	7. The Last King of Thotland

Malcolm had no intentions of going to New York to see Anika right away. He wanted to give Anika her space and time to heal. He also wanted Anika to take the time to see that he'd done the right thing in sedating her before he came by. In other words, he was running from Anika. Hiding.

Lucious would have none of it. "You need to be the first thing she sees when she wakes up," he informed Malcolm as they watched the pilot refuel Lucious's jet. "What we've just done is the easy part, We did that so we can stand with our chests out and say that we protected our women - which we did."

"It was the right thing to do," Malcolm added.

"Sure it was. But let's keep it real, Malcolm. Getting rid of Angelo might have been a gift to the world, but it doesn't do a damn thing for Cookie or Anika. And how's it going to look to Anika when I show up and you don't?"

With the plane ready, Lucious gestured for Malcolm to follow him into the aircraft. Malcolm's most luxurious flight had been in an MH-60 Seahawk during a life-threatening mission, so he had a _don't-break-anything-don't-touch-anything-don't-ask-for-anything_ feeling in his stomach as he sat opposite Lucious. "How did you wind up with Anika, anyway?" Lucious asked, pouring out a glass of vintage Glen Grant scotch once the plane grew stable.

"We ran into each other when I was at a conference in New York," Malcolm answered. Lucious offered the scotch to Malcolm, who shook his head and opened a Sprite instead. "She said hi, I said hi, we wound up exchanging phone numbers and it went from there."

"Yeah, but I thought you couldn't stand Anika after you caught her slipping something in Elle Dallas's drink." Malcolm had reported Anika's actions to Lucious, even checking the footage to be sure he'd seen what he thought he saw before asking to speak to his boss. Lucious just blew him off after he saw that it was Anika who had spiked the drink, and Malcolm despised them both after that.

"I was looking for some easy ass," Malcolm admitted. "I felt like worst case scenario, I'd get my dick sucked. But Anika made me work for it. Never had to work for it before, to be honest."

"What about Cookie?" Lucious asked.

 _What about Cookie?_ Malcolm almost asked. "Other than Cookie, of course," he lied smoothly. In reality, the most Malcolm ever had to do to get between Cookie's legs was show up to work.

Lucious wasn't fooled for a second, but he appreciated the gesture of respect. "I hate to say it," Malcolm went on, "but I was surprised when Anika didn't come into my hotel room when I invited her up. So then it was like a chase...a conquest. The funny thing is by the time I got Anika, I'd long forgotten about what my original intentions were."

"You fall in love kinda quick, don't you?" Lucious observed. "First Cookie, now Anika."

"I never loved Cookie." The declaration came out harsher than Malcolm intended, but it was true. As far back as sophomore year, Malcolm had been trying to fuck the hole in his heart away that his mother's death had caused. By the time he graduated from college, Malcolm's nickname was HOH - _Hard on Hoes_ \- for the way Malcolm used and discarded women like condoms.

Being with Cookie was the closest thing he'd ever felt to loving a woman. Malcolm wanted to take those feelings with him to D.C., to nurture those feelings that he'd never had before. _A simp,_ Malcolm thought angrily upon moving to D.C. to work for Olivia. What was his lifetime motto? _Hard on hoes,_ especially silly hoes like Cookie Lyon, who still got juiced up over some loser who'd abandoned her in prison for 17 years.

But as much as Malcolm wanted to hate Cookie for breaking it off with him (which disregarded the fact that Malcolm didn't reach out to Cookie, either) he just couldn't. Cookie had shown Malcolm that he was capable of caring for and potentially loving a woman in a healthy manner. Malcolm had shown Cookie that she could give and receive pleasure from a man other than Lucious. There would be no Malcolm and Anika had there never been a Malcolm and Cookie. For that, there would always be a special place in Malcolm's heart for Cookie Lyon.

Because of this, Malcolm marked Angelo as a dead man the minute Anika told him about Cookie's attack. Had Angelo only attacked Cookie, Malcolm would've disposed of him like one disposed of a dead rat - quickly and without a second thought. A bullet to the head, a fall off a building, a "suicide" or something to that extent. But attacking Anika guaranteed Angelo a painful, long-suffering death. Not only was Malcolm determined to be present when Angelo finally died, he planned to be the one who made Angelo take his last breath.

"Have you met Bella? My granddaughter?" Lucious's voice cut into Malcolm's lethal fantasies.

"First time I met Bella, she threw up on me. I had to work just as hard to get Bella's approval as her mother's. But I got it," Malcolm added proudly. "By the end of the day, Bella was sitting in my lap, feeding me her favorite snacks until I almost puked."

"Those nasty-ass Teddy Grahams?" The men laughed as Malcolm nodded. "Take two fingers and pat her lips next time and she'll stop," Lucious advised. "You know you ain't comin' in playing Daddy, right? My son takes care of his daughter."

"Oh, I know that." Malcolm drained his glass of Sprite and poured from the can a second time. "A video of Hakeem's came on TV and she jumped up and said, _'Daddy, Daddy!'_ Bella loves her father to death."

Lucious nodded with pride. It seemed like a lifetime ago when he was so disappointed that Bella hadn't been born a boy, or that he'd put his name on her birth certificate because his son was such a screwup. "I wonder what's going on with Angelo right now," he mused as he sipped his drink. "You think he's already dead?"

"Say what?" A strange little smile spread across Malcolm's face. "Angelo isn't going to die today, Lucious. Angelo isn't going to die for a very long time."

When Lucious and Malcolm arrived at Cookie's house well after midnight, Lucious wasn't surprised when Cookie threw her arms around was Malcolm, not him. "Thank you," Cookie said tearfully, her face buried in Malcolm's chest. _Thank you for protecting me when you had no reason to. Thank you for not judging Anika for the woman she used to be. Thank you for forgiving me when I couldn't be the woman you deserved. Thank you for bringing Lucious back to me._

Malcolm gave Cookie a squeeze and kissed her on the cheek. "Is everything working okay here in your apartment? No one has tried to bother you anymore, have they?" Overwhelmed with emotion, Cookie merely nodded. "Good. That's good. How is Anika doing?" Malcolm asked anxiously. "Where is she? When can I see her?"

"Anika's doing okay." Cookie stepped back and wiped her eyes. "She's asleep. The doctors said not to wake her up. You can wash up and sleep here tonight and see her first thing in the morning."

"In the morning?" Malcolm and Lucious exchanged looks. "Cookie, I can't wait until morning. I'm not going to wake her up - I just want to see her, that's all. You don't even have to turn the lights on."

"I'm sorry, Malcolm," Cookie said. "But that's not gonna happen."

"Why not?" Malcolm asked testily.

"Because I don't need you blowing up in my house, that's why. Don't act all upset now, Malcolm. You wouldn't have even come here at all if Lucious hadn't made you come."

 _"Made me come?_ " Malcolm turned to Lucious. "What the hell did you tell her? You didn't make me come anywhere!"

"I didn't say I _made_ you come." Lucious glared at Cookie. He'd told her about Malcolm's reluctance in private when Malcolm was in the restroom. "Damn, Cookie. Put me on blast, will you?"

"Blast my dick!" Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest. "Look, Cookie. Before the sun rises, I'm going to see Anika. That's a fact. So we can figure out how to do this peacefully, or-"

"Wait a minute, now," Lucious interrupted, stepping up to Malcolm. "I know you're feelin' some kind of way right now, but you're not gonna raise hell here up in Cookie's house. Certainly not with me here."

"You know I would never disrespect Cookie," Malcolm fired back, though his hands were clenched tightly. "But ask yourself this, Lucious: if Cookie was hurt and she was tucked away somewhere and you were being told that you couldn't see her...what would _you_ do?"

Lucious thought about how he'd felt just 24 hours ago when Anika denied access to Cookie. He was furious about it, but Anika was ultimately respecting Cookie's wishes. Then he thought about how he would've felt if Cookie was battered and broken and sedated, not even able to speak for herself, and someone telling Lucious that he couldn't see her. "Raise hell," Lucious admitted.

Cookie was spared from further arguing when Malcolm's phone rang. "Hello...Uncle Eli?" Malcolm kept a straight face while listening to his uncle's words, but everything in his demeanor changed. "I see," he finally said. "Okay, I'll call you back. And thank you."

Malcolm hung up the phone and turned to Cookie. "Take me to Anika," he ordered, no longer sounding pleading or desperate. He sounded like he sounded back in the jet, complete with the thousand-yard stare to match. _One shot, one kill._ Cookie looked over at Lucious, who gave a subtle nod. She still didn't like the idea, but one look at Malcolm's steely face told Cookie that this would be a bad time to press the matter.

The dim light did nothing to hide Anika's ever-worsening injuries. The right side of her face was twice the size of her left. Her jaw was unquestionably broken, while her injured eye was completely swollen shut. Blood seeped through the bandages on her wrist and her side. To Lucious and Cookie's surprise, Malcolm just glanced at Anika, then turned and walked away without a word. Lucious and Cookie exchanged anguished looks as they followed Malcolm out the room. _What in the psychopathic hell...?_

"Malcolm!" Lucious called after Malcolm, who was gathering his coat and keys. "Where are you going?"

"I have to something to do," Malcolm informed the Lyons curtly. "I'll be back sometime tomorrow. Maybe later this week."

 _"Maybe?"_ Lucious followed Malcolm, who was walking briskly down the hall. "Later this week? What the hell do you need to do right now when Anika needs you?"

Malcolm whipped around. "Look, Lucious. You wanted me to come, so I came. Now something's come up, so I'm gone."

"Riiiight. Something's come up," Lucious mocked. "You mean your uncle called you and you're leaving Anika to go see him, right?"

Malcolm took a break and looked over at Cookie. "Cookie...could you-"

"No," Cookie interrupted. "This is my house."

"Cook," Lucious said. "Give us five minutes. Please, baby."

Cookie glared at Malcolm with hate-filled eyes as she stalked into the kitchen for some scissors and clean gauze for Anika's arm. It wasn't just that Malcolm was leaving Anika when Anika needed him the most, but because she was reminded of the days as a young wife when she had to know her so-called place in order to keep the peace. _The less you know, the better,_ Lucious had told her more than one back in those days, and it always filled Cookie with fear.

"Malcolm, I'm not going to stand here and beg you to stay with your own woman when she needs you to the most. But I'll tell you this much." Cookie walked up to Malcolm and pointed the scissors in his face. "If you walk out that door, don't you _ever_ bring your black ass back to New York. And if you _do_ try to come back for Anika, Malcolm, I swear to God that I'll kill you myself. She is the blood of my blood, Malcolm, and that means that I will spill _your_ blood if that's what it takes to keep you from hurting her."

"I hope it's not with those scissors," Malcolm said sarcastically. "That'll leave a nasty scratch."

 _"Walk away,_ Cookie," Lucious said loudly. She did, but not before popping Malcolm in the mouth for his insolence. Lucious dropped his head to hide laughter, while Malcolm merely kissed the air in response. _"Five minutes, Lucious!"_ she yelled over her shoulder as she stalked away, and now Malcolm's laughter joined Lucious's. It was a much needed light moment on such a heavy night.

"Alright, man," Lucious sighed when Cookie finally left. "Give it to me straight. I'll figure out what to tell Cookie."

"I still can't believe..." Malcolm shook his head at the sheer ridiculous of it all. "Angelo swallowed an entire bottle of pills that were in his luggage. He's in a coma."

So Angelo would die a painless death after all. A part of Lucious was actually relieved that it was almost over, though he didn't know why. What made Angelo try to kill himself, anyway? Did he know what was about to happen with Eli Pope and his band of merry men, or was it something else? "Wow. So happens now?"

"It's up to me," Malcolm said. "But I wanted to speak with you first, since Anika is your wife."

It was obvious that Malcolm was looking to Lucious to receive a blessing to fly to God-knows-where, cut off Angelo's cock and watch him choke to death on it. But Lucious knew what it was like to be fueled by hatred. It was such a waste of energy and time. Lucious went to the kitchen and pulled out two cans of beer. "What did I tell you before we got on the plane, Malcolm?" he asked, handing a can to Malcolm.

"That this would be the hardest part," Malcolm cracked open his beer and drank half of it in one go. Right now, Malcolm wanted nothing more than to be drunk enough to pass out until morning.

"Exactly. Going after Angelo is easy, Malcolm. Staying here? That's hard." Malcolm drained the other half of his beer. "Believe me," Lucious assured Malcolm, "I know how you feel. You feel like you're bustin' at the seams and the only thing that will make things right again is to crush something or break something. You wanna take the pain away. You'd shoulder it if you could. Wouldn't you?"

"Gladly," Malcolm said sadly. "I wish it had been me, Lucious. I really do."

"See? That's love. But that's _easy_ love. If you leave tonight, it'll be to protect you and _your_ feelings. And that's going to make Anika suffer double. Take it from somebody who wasted 17 years running because I couldn't handle the pain of being without Cookie." Lucious put his hand on Malcolm's shoulder. "Don't make the same mistake I made, Malcolm. Don't leave Anika if you truly love her, especially not at a time like this."

"I never said I loved Anika," Malcolm said flatly.

"Lemme ask you something, Malcolm. Do you deny you love Anika because she's my wife? Or is it something else?"

"Well..." Malcolm couldn't help but be embarrassed. "The truth is, Lucious, I've never been in love before. I don't know what I'm feeling. Don't you think I'd know if I was in love with Anika or not? Like with you and Cookie. You knew right away that she was the one, right?"

Lucious smiled. "I knew Cookie was the one from the minute I saw her. But it took Cookie a little more convincing. Plus, I had to move a couple of people out the way."

Malcolm rose, took Lucious's unopened beer, and gulped it down. "When Cookie asked me to give Angelo a pass for what he'd done to her, I thought she'd lost her mind. But I see why she did it now. And I still don't agree with her. But she had a point." Lucious took both empty beer cans to the kitchen. "All the way to Toronto, I couldn't wait to see what we were going to do to Angelo. But by the time he woke up, all I wanted was to be with Cookie."

Lucious made it back to the living room, turning in the direction of Cookie's master bedroom. "You asked me my opinion about what you should do, so here it is: let Angelo go. Stop dreaming of all the ways you can kill him. Put your energy back into Anika, not him. That's my advice."

Malcolm nodded and Lucious left. He understood what Lucious was trying to tell him, what Cookie was trying to tell Lucious. Showing Angelo mercy didn't have anything to do with being soft or scared. It was about channeling energy into something or someone who deserved it. Malcolm smiled at the wallpaper on the lock screen of his phone. _"She must be a special girl,"_ Olivia had teased Malcolm, _"to wind up on the screen of the last king of Thotland."_ And she was. Oh, God, she was.

By the time Malcolm dialed Uncle Eli's number, Angelo was already in his rear view mirror. "End him," Angelo ordered. "Just pull the plug. I don't even care anymore." Malcolm knew where he wanted to be, and it wasn't in some unmarked location somewhere while the woman he loved wondered where he was. Angelo DuBois? _To hell with Angelo DuBois._

"Sure thing, nephew," Eli assured. "But what about his body? Any requests about that?"

"I still want him gone," Malcolm answered. "If it wasn't for Diana DuBois trying to destroy the Lyon family, none of this would've happened. Let that bitch suffer."

"Will do," Eli said. "Go look after your girl, Malcolm. It's handled." Naturally, Malcolm had no idea if Angelo was going to go to a morgue or into a dark cell, but he didn't care. The minute he hung up the phone, Angelo disappeared from his mind like a wisp of smoke.

There was a stack of clean clothes and a bath towel waiting for Malcolm on the chair in Anika's room. Malcolm avoided looking at Anika's battered body until he came out from his shower. Now he could concentrate on Anika in whole, without any distractions. He could give Anika his undivided attention, no matter how much it hurt Malcolm to do so.

Malcolm took Anika's left hand in his and pulled the plush chair next to her. He brushed back her bangs, cringing at the purple lump on her forehead. The swollen eye..."Broken orbital bone," Malcolm said out loud. Anger filled his body again, but it dissipated just as quickly.

Cookie had left scissors and gauze on the nightstand next to Anika's bed, so Malcolm removed Cookie's sloppy wrist bandaging and redid the dressing much neater and tighter. When Malcolm was finished, he leaned over and kissed the clean bandages, then kissed her swollen cheek. A part of Anika's lip looked torn, and Malcolm dared to kiss it, too.

"You should get in bed with her," a voice said from the door.

Malcolm turned around to find Cookie, so lovely and delicate in a huge bathrobe and carrying a blanket and pillow. "I don't want Anika to wake up and find a man in bed with her," he explained.

Cookie walked into the room and frowned at Anika's fresh bandages. She must've used twice and much gauze and only cover half of Anika's wounds. "She'll know it's you in her sleep," she assured Malcolm. "Somewhere, in that place where she's dreaming, she'll feel your presence. She'll know you're there."

Malcolm placed the bandages and the scissors in the nightstand drawer. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." For a while, Cookie just watched Malcolm as he sat by Anika's bedside, stroking her her when she began to moan in pain. Not once did he try to wake her; rather, he just stayed by her side as a soothing presence. "Malcolm..." she said after a few moments had passed. "I never got the chance to tell you that I'm sorry for the way things ended." Malcolm tore his eyes from Anika long enough to look up and see a genuinely contrite Cookie still standing there. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be the woman you wanted me to be."

Still holding Anika's hand in his, Malcolm reached out and took Cookie's hand as well. "You taught me how to love, Cookie," he said, kissing the back of Cookie's hand. "I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't be with Anika if it wasn't for you."

Malcolm stood and offered his seat to Cookie. When Cookie declined and sat on the floor, Malcolm joined her. "I gave the best of myself to Lucious long ago, Malcolm. I see that now. Me and you probably would've worked out, but you deserve more than what I ever could've give you." She chucked Malcolm under the chin. "I bet I've never made you smile like you're smiling now."

"Not with your clothes on, no." The two of them laughed together, and Cookie punched Malcolm playfully. "Cookie...forgive me for asking this, but...how in the world did _you_ , of all people, wind up in an abusive relationship?"

Cookie sighed heavily. "I've asked myself that a thousand times. I guess I was fighting my feelings for Lucious so much that I would put up with anything just to have another man on my arm. And then there was you-"

 _"Me?"_

"Yeah. You. For so long after you left, all I could think about was how I had a good man like you and I let you go, and how I wasn't going to make that mistake again. Angelo reminded me of you. He even looked a little like you. I guess that's why I was so attracted to him. But he wasn't a good man in his heart like you are. Who Angelo truly was took a while to get to the surface."

"I'm not so good at heart," Malcolm commented. "You know that better than anybody."

"I know you were a troubled young man with unhealthy attitudes towards women until you found God, therapy and a little of Cookie's nookie." They laughed again, but grew quiet when Anika started to stir. "I always knew you'd make a wonderful husband and father for another woman."

"Father? Cookie, I told you that I didn't care if I had children."

"Right. You told _me_ that you didn't care if you ever had children because you were willing to give those up to be with me." Cookie looked down at Anika - sleeping, fertile, already a mother. "You would've been settling, Malcolm, and it wouldn't have been worth it. You deserve to have a family, Malcolm - a wife and children, like I know you really wanted. And God knows I'm not having any more."

"Lucious might have a problem with that," Malcolm joked.

"Until Lucious can blow babies out of his ass, he's gonna have to live with it." Cookie stood and stretched. "I better go. Lucious is running a hot bath for me and I wouldn't be surprised if he's fallen asleep like he always used to do."

"Have fun," Malcolm teased. "Not too much fun, though. You got up off the floor kinda slow there."

"Very funny." Cookie threw the blanket over Malcolm's head, then walked over and knelt down next to Anika, who was growing calmer and calmer by Malcolm's touch. "You make Anika better. Stronger. You know, she was the one who forced me to go to the hospital when I was too scared to go get help."

"You would've done the same for her," Malcolm pointed out.

"Yeah," Cookie agreed. "I would've." She kissed a small spot on Anika's face, one of the few that wasn't battered or bruised. "You take care of her, Malcolm. She..." Cookie took a ragged breath and blinked back her tears. "She means the world to me."

At the doorway, Cookie over her shoulder one last time. She watched as Malcolm returned to the large plush chair, throwing the blanket over his body and propping the pillow behind his head. Ever the gentleman, Malcolm still refused to get into bed with Anika without her knowledge or consent. Still, Malcolm would stay in that chair all night if he needed to, for he wanted to be the first thing Anika saw when she awoke in the morning.

TBC


	8. All Things Must Pass

As Cookie predicted, Lucious was snoring softly on top of her bed while her bath water brimmed near level to the top of the tub. Even though it had run so long that the water in the faucet was cold, there was plenty of warm water for Cookie to enjoy a bath. Cookie was tempted to wake Lucious up so she could have company, and she knew he would probably be irritated if she didn't. But judging by the pool of drool forming on Lucious's pillow, Cookie chose to let Lucious rest instead.

Lucious had lit candles all over the bathroom, making for a romantic setting. It also helped to hide many of the bruises and scrapes on Cookie's body, for which she was grateful. She remembered the haunted look on Anika's face when she saw Cookie's body in the light. Would Anika be able to handle her own injuries? Was she aware of how serious her injuries were?

Aware of a presence in the room, Cookie opened her eyes, then smiled. "You look beautiful there, in the candlelight and everything," Lucious observed. He was naked from the waist up; a towel covered what was below. _Damn_. She couldn't call him _fat ass_ anymore. "You been workin' out, old head," she admired.

"Yeah, well..." Lucious poked his tongue out at Cookie, wiggling it laviciously and making her laugh. "You gonna join me?" Cookie crooked her finger at Lucious and winked. "You know we can't do nothin' until I'm done with all the antibiotics, but..."

"But you know that doesn't matter to me." Cookie lowered her eyes when Lucious removed his towel - she didn't know why, since she was familiar with every inch of his body - and kept looking away until he was sitting behind her in the bathtub. Lucious took Cookie's body sponge in his hands and soaped it, then gently dragged it across Cookie's shoulders. "Am I hurting you?" he asked, for it was impossible to ignore all the scrapes and bruises, even by candlelight.

"No." Cookie laid her head back on Lucious's chest. "You feel perfect." Lucious tilted Cookie's head upward, bringing her lips to his. His touch felt so _good,_ so familiar. Lucious's lips kissed every bruise that he could see. "So tell me what happened," Cookie said, trying to control the heat rising in her body. "Be straight with me, Lucious. Is Angelo dead?"

"Angelo swallowed an entire bottle of pills while he was being transported to his mother's house." Lucious chuckled. "Knowing that punk ass, Angelo was probably too scared to face his mama."

"Uh-huh." Cookie wasn't fooled for a second. "So you told Angelo he was going to his mother's house, which I'm sure he knew was a lie at some point during that ride." Lucious shrugged, since he really didn't care what was going through Angelo's mind at the time. "So where was Angelo _really_ going?"

"I honestly don't know," Lucious answered. He reached for a small container of brown sugar exfoliant Cookie kept in a shower caddy. "The only person who knows that answer was the man driving him."

"And that man was...?"

Lucious took his time answering. "Malcolm's uncle," he finally replied.

"Malcolm's uncle? How the _hell_ did Malcolm get into this?"

Lucious scooped a bit of exfoliant on his hands and spread it across Cookie's shoulders. "You know Malcolm cares about you, Cookie. Angelo would've been gone even if I hadn't had anything to do it."

That thought had never occurred to Cookie. In Malcolm's way, he was just as loyal to Cookie - and Lucious by default - as anybody else she'd ever known. "Angelo didn't die right away. Malcolm authorized his people to pull the plug a couple of hours ago. That's what that phone call was about."

"So...Malcolm killed Angelo?" Cookie asked, barely able to get the words out.

"If we're being technical about the whole thing...yeah. Malcolm killed Angelo." Lucious noticed the unreadable look on Cookie's face. "Why does that bother you? You've seen him take out a man from 20 feet."

"It's just..." Cookie reached back and tied her cornrows into a loose knot, off her shoulders and the nape of her neck. "Malcolm was supposed to be the _peaceful_ one, you know?"

"Malcolm _is_ peaceful," Lucious assured Cookie. "Angelo died nice and peaceful. I won't even tell you what Malcolm would've done to Angelo if he hadn't talked to me first. Actually..." Lucious thought it over. "Lemme take that back. I can't imagine what Malcolm would've done to Angelo if he hadn't come to me first."

"What did you tell him?" Cookie asked, curious as to how Lucious Lyon, of all people, could let a man like Angelo walk out of a room unharmed, especially considering the circumstances.

"The same thing you said to me." Lucious tenderly kissed the damp curls on the back of Cookie's neck. "I asked Malcolm if his love for Anika was stronger than his hatred for Angelo. You see he's still here. Although I think that he's going to eventually resent me for talking him out of leaving Angelo alone. I mean, I hate Angelo, too, but he's irrelevant to me now that you're safe. But Malcolm? I think he's going to hate Angelo until the day he dies."

"I hope you help him with controlling all that hatred," Cookie said. "Help him redirect all that energy into loving Anika. I'm not sure how she's going to handle having her body messed up and all. And what about her face?" Cookie shuddered, remembering how misshapen and asymmetrical Anika's perfect face was now.

"The doctor told me that she might need corrective surgery on her face before they put her on the plane. And she was so perfect, too, before now. What I mean, Cookie," Lucious added when Cookie threw Lucious a hard look over her shoulder," is that she had no scars, no marks...no character. Her body doesn't tell a story, not like yours. Like, take right here."

Lucious lifted Cookie's left wrist, pointing to a dark discolored mark. "That's the time you pushed Andre's hard-headed ass out the way and got that burn from pulling out that pie from the oven." Lucious reached under the water and squeezed the inner part of her left thigh, making Cookie giggle. "That's where you dropped that pressing comb on your thigh when you were pressing Carol's hair." Lucious gently tapped on a dime-sized cut on Cookie's leg, high above her knee. "That's when that tuna can popped out of that trash bag and cut you when you were a kid." Finally, Lucious traced a faint line across Cookie's stomach, underneath her navel. "That's from when Andre was born."

It was over 30 years ago, but the bloody memory of Cookie's small, still-growing body struggling to not push her out eight pound baby boy in their tiny apartment was seared into Lucious's brain. Vernon's truck rushed to the emergency room - no ambulance would come to their part of town - and at the hospital, Cookie lost so much blood that day that her heart stopped twice. Andre Lyon was eventually born via Cesarean section, but as a result of sloppy surgery, inadequate care and infection, Cookie's c-section scar bubbled and keloided until Cookie couldn't stand to look at it.

There was a tattoo that went around Cookie's body to cover the scar, but it was still there, underneath the ink and the stretch marks. Angelo had sneered at the "ghetto" tattoo that covered her c-scar, and he mocked the scars underneath her breasts. Cookie hated how her chest looked after breastfeeding three boys, and she begged Lucious to let her get her breasts done shortly before her arrest. It was the worst decision she'd ever made. Cookie spent 17 painful years with silicone rocks in her body. She'd had them redone as soon as she came out of prison, but the scars remained.

Until now, Anika's body was smooth and perfect, as if she had never even tripped and fallen in her life. Now her body had character, but what stories would it tell? _That's where my child's grandmother's crazy ex sliced me with a steak knife. That's where he went clean upside my head. And if you look closely under my eye_...

"It's not your fault," Lucious said tenderly, wiping tears from Cookie's eyes that she didn't even know were falling.

"It should've been me," Cookie said flatly. "I could've taken it. I'm tough. But Anika..."

"Anika's taking it, too. She's tough in her own way," Lucious interrupted. "She's survived everything I had to offer. If that doesn't make you tough, I'm not sure what is."

"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

"For what? You didn't do anything." Lucious scooped clean water with his hands and spread it across Cookie's shoulders, rinsing away the brown sugar. "I doubt if she holds any of this against you. Anika will get through this time in her life." Lucious kissed the side of Cookie's face. "And so will we."

* * *

Post-Angelo life turned out to be harder than everyone thought it would be.

Malcolm and Anika were already gone to the emergency room when Lucious and Cookie woke up early Sunday morning. They remained gone until Malcolm returned to Cookie's place that afternoon with news far worse than anybody could've dreamed of. Not only was Anika's jaw broken, but they'd missed the broken cheekbone on the opposite side of the orbital bone fracture on her face. Anika had been moved to another hospital so a team of doctors could properly set the bones in her face, forcing Malcolm to deliver the news alone over sandwiches, chips and cold drinks to Cookie and Lucious, to say nothing of baby Bella.

But that wasn't the worst of it, not by a long shot. "We've recovered Angelo's cell phone records," Malcolm explained to a shaken Lucious and a devastated Cookie. "The last phone call he made was to his mother, Diana. It was right around the time I was coming up the stairs. We couldn't see it last night, but you can definitely see it this morning..." Malcolm shook his head and said nothing for a moment, and Lucious and Cookie wisely said nothing until Malcolm was ready to talk again. "Choke marks around Anika's neck, and some other friction marks across her face, particularly her forehead."

"What does all of that mean?" Lucious asked hoarsely. Cookie, who was starting to see the full picture, began to tremble so badly that Lucious reached out and took Bella out of her arms. Somehow, he was able to smile and tickle Bella as if nothing was wrong. He had to, for the sake of Anika's daughter.

"We won't know for sure until later," Malcolm explained patiently, "and maybe not ever. But according to the doctors and Anika's brain scans, there's a good chance that Angelo tried to smother or choke Anika to death. And with the lack of oxygen to her brain..."

"...there could be brain damage," Lucious finished. Malcolm just nodded and look away, and Lucious was stunned into silence.

Cookie, on the other hand, wasn't willing to accept such a prognosis so easily. _"No!"_ She sprang from her chair, swinging wildly at Malcolm as Lucious dodged out of the way, Bella still in his arms. "Take it back, you motherfucker! _Take it back! She's gonna be fine!"_ Anika losing her perfect body to Angelo was bad enough. The thought of Anika's razor-sharp mind and Ivy League education being lost to the likes of Angelo DuBois was too much for Cookie to take. Lucious had no choice but to console a now-screaming Bella, leaving Malcolm to Cookie's wrath. _"Take it back!"_ Cookie screamed over and over, as if the only thing between Anika and permanent brain damage was Malcolm's statement.

"Stop it, Cookie. Stop it!" Malcolm secured Cookie in a loose, but firm hold that made it impossible for Cookie to hurt him. "Listen to me, Cookie Lyon. It's too early to see what the lack of oxygen did to Anika's brain. In fact, I don't know why they even bothered with a brain scan, unless they were looking for the worst, most visible damage. For all we know, the scans could just be the medication. Or it could be a bad read. Or nothing at all."

"But she might be..." Cookie asked tearfully. Malcolm released Cookie and she turned to face him. "She might be...slow?"

"She might be," Malcolm repeated. "And if she is, we'll love her and take care of her all the same."

Cookie's face crumpled. She walked over to Lucious, who took Cookie into his arms. "Dry those tears, Cook," Lucious chastised gently. "You're making Bella cry. And we have to be strong for her."

"That's right," Malcolm agreed. "Because there's no way Bella will be seeing her mother for at least a couple of weeks. Not until the swelling in her face goes down." Malcolm stood and took a wailing Bella into his arms while Lucious rocked Cookie in his arms while she tried to get herself back together. "Shh, shh," Malcolm cajoled. "It's okay, Bella. Your mother is going to be just fine, watch and see." Standing in front of Lucious and Cookie as a picture of calm and paternalism, Malcolm said to Lucious, "You should've let me kill him when I had the chance, Lucious."

"Remember, Malcolm," Lucious reminded him, "this is the hardest part." All Malcolm could do was nod miserably and agree.

* * *

 _"Cell phone, please. Phone, please. Yup, right in here. Drop your phone in here."_

"You don't have to do this," Lucious told Cookie first thing Monday morning. Reluctantly, he'd done as Cookie asked, coming over the loudspeaker to announce that every Empire employee was due in the rehearsal hall by 9:00 that morning. The blue-black shine that circled Cookie's eye had faded a bit and her swollen lips were back to normal. Her rib wasn't giving her much trouble any more, either. But any fool could see that she'd been in a physical altercation, and the whispers and stares that had been following her around for the past half-hour were too much to bear.

"Yes, I do," Cookie insisted. "I owe it to Anika." By Monday morning, the only other people who knew what had happened between Angelo and Cookie were Anika's parents and Cookie's sons. Jamal broke down and cried at the sight of Cookie's face, as did Hakeem, while Andre swore revenge. "It's already handled, son," Lucious said firmly. "There's nothing to be done." Nobody asked what Lucious meant by that. As Lyon men, Andre, Jamal and Hakeem knew better than to ask questions.

The last thing Cookie wanted was to be was Empire's face of domestic violence. But it was impossible to keep Cookie and Anika out of the office at the same time without a legitimate reason. "Time to take one for the team," Cookie announced to the mirror. Anika had done it for Cookie, after all. Now it was Cookie's turn.

Lucious clapped Cookie on the shoulder. "If it's what you want to do, I'll be right by your side, just like the boys will."

As Empire employees were patted down one last time for any cell phones, electronic tablets or anything else that could record what Cookie was about to say, Cookie ignored the loud gasps and whispers that followed her to the front of the podium. She waited until everyone was seated and quiet, giving everyone in the room a good, long look at her injuries. "I know a lot of y'all are wondering what the hell happened to my face," she announced. "I'm sure most of you already know or already guessed it. But for those who don't, here it is: I was in an abusive relationship. That's right," she said when the crowd burst into activity. "My fiancee Angelo was whuppin' my ass."

More murmuring and whispering. "I know what y'all are thinking," Cookie went on. "You're thinking that Angelo is such a good guy and there's no way he could do this. Or how if _anyone_ is gonna make a so-called good man slap a female, it's my loud-talking ass."

To Cookie's disgust, there was a ripple of soft laughter that she chose to ignore. "What's so damn funny?" Hakeem barked, and the room grew uncomfortably quiet again. From her side Jamal squeezed his mother's hand, and Cookie took another breath. _Lucious was right_ , she thought. Cookie was addressing this too early, staring out at the crowd out of one good eye and one swollen eye into disbelieving faces. _They don't get_ _it_ , Cookie thought, and all she wanted to do now was to run and hide her battered face.

Then Cookie thought about Anika, whose jaw was wired shut and whose face was behind hard plastic, who was so drugged and loopy that she didn't even notice when her own mother ran out of the hospital room screaming Anika's name. _I have to do this._ Cookie thought. For the blood of her blood, Cookie _had_ to do this.

"The truth is that I didn't know I was in an abusive relationship. Damn, that sounds so corny. I mean, I shouldn't say corny. It's just that...'an abusive relationship.' I mean, really? Me? Hell, I don't even believe it happened, and I was there." That soft tittering again, only this time Cookie smiled to let the audience know it was okay. In her own winsome way, Cookie spoke of little red flags, of the isolation, of suppressing her own light to let Angelo shine.

"I know what y'all are thinking. Why didn't I just tell this man right here?" Cookie smiled over at Lucious, and she found herself talking to him directly, as if nobody else was in the room. "The truth is that I just was embarrassed by it all. I couldn't believe this was happening to me, and I knew that I could just fix it. I could make it stop. I mean, what was I supposed to say? 'Lucious, this soft-ass buppie is kicking my ass?' I thought he would laugh at me. I thought everyone would laugh at me."

Lucious shook his head furiously, but he thought back to when Anika had told him that Cookie was being abused. And what had Lucious done? He'd laughed at the very idea. Soon, Lucious had dropped his head in his hands to hide his own tears and shame.

"How did you get out?" somebody called out.

 _"Shut up!" "Shut the fuck up, dude!"_ Cookie held up her hand and waited until the crowd calmed down again. "That's a good question, actually. So here's your answer: I didn't." Cookie's voice grew stronger. "Somebody helped me see how much danger I was putting myself in." Cookie couldn't say Anika's name, but goddamn it, Cookie could sing her praises. "She actually kidnapped me, to be honest. Dragged my ass into a car and had it take me to the hospital to be checked out. Had all my locks changed and everything. She...she did what she had to do to save me. And...and then..."

Cookie stepped back from the podium and took a deep breath. Andre handed her a handkerchief and kissed her cheek. "It's okay," he said in her ear. "Why don't you stop here?"

Cookie nodded and stepped back to the podium. "Look, I'm not saying this just to dog Angelo out. And Cookie ain't gon' lie...I still miss him." Once again, Cookie waited for the murmuring to die down, and she ignored the hard, angry look in Lucious's eyes. "I know Angelo was a good man once, and maybe he'll be a good man again."

"Yeah, in Hell," Lucious supplied under his breath, and Cookie tried to keep a straight face. "But now you just heard it from my lips so you don't have to go gossiping and trying to figure out what's going on. And I don't need nobody telling me that it's gonna be okay and all that stuff. I know it's going to be okay. I got my family." She smiled at her sons. "And I got my friends." Cookie winked at Lucious. "And I got all of y'all, so I know I'ma be alright. Let's go make some music, okay?" Cookie raised her fist. _"To the Empire!"_ she shouted through her tears.

 **"TO THE EMPIRE!"** Every employee rose to his or her feet and applauded wildly. And despite what Cookie said about not wanting to talk about it, three of her employees - two women and a man - came to Cookie asking for advice about how to get out of their own troubled relationship. If Cookie's experiences led to even one woman or man escaping an abusive mate, then Cookie figured that everything she'd gone through had been worth it. She just wondered what was going through Anika's mind - literally.

* * *

Anika, as it turned out, was surprisingly resilient, just as Lucious said she was. Like Cookie, Anika had simply chalked up her injuries as being her own fault. Nobody told Anika to go flirting with Angelo, and nobody told Anika to go off with Angelo without telling anyone where she was going. As far as Anika was concerned, she was lucky to even be alive. _Forgive Cookie?_ What was there to forgive?

This line of thinking horrified Malcolm, but Lucious was able to make Malcolm understand. By accepting responsibility for Angelo's actions - as unfair as that was - Cookie and Anika could simply remove Angelo from the equation and concentrate on themselves. Anika was in great pain for the first few days out of the hospital. She largely eschewed the pain meds out of fear that she would become addicted to them, even though it amplified the pain she was feeling.

Anika also cried every night because her parents were taking care of her daughter. Anika couldn't stand the thought of six weeks without her child, but she had to be satisfied with Skype chats and Facetiming her little girl. Hakeem came up with the brilliant idea of playing old FaceTime footage of Anika so that Bella could communicate with her mother without seeing Anika's injured face. Since Bella was too young to notice that Anika's mouth did not match her words, she could gurgle and coo to the computer screen without incident. Bella always reached for the screen, yelling "Mama!" and screaming every time they had to hang up.

The best news had to do with Anika's brain scans - there was no permanent damage. However, there _were_ some issues, such as Anika's tendency to lapse into inattentiveness. There was also reduced hearing in her left ear. Like all the other issues, this was also temporary. The only permanent change that Anika suffered was that she seemed incapable of writing in cursive, opting instead for a print - cursive hybrid style of handwriting for the rest of her life.

With her jaw still wired shut and a ridiculous story about a car crash, Anika returned to work two weeks later. Like with Cookie, every employee Anika passed stood and applauded as Anika walked by. Even though Cookie never said the name of the person who had helped her get out of her relationship with Angelo, anybody with sense could connect the dots. She'd lost nearly 20 pounds courtesy of her all-liquid diet, and she would spent the next month talking through a clenched jaw, but no one said a word about it.

Now that Anika was back, it was time for Anika and Cookie to bond and heal together, but they didn't. They _couldn't._ At work, Anika and Cookie spoke to each other respectfully at worked, and they fawned all over Bella when they were at home. Their relationship was cordial, but strained. Did Anika resent Cookie after all? Malcolm assured Cookie that she didn't. "Anika just wants things to go back to normal," Malcolm told Cookie. "It's not like the two of you would be hanging out if it wasn't for this whole Angelo thing."

Malcolm was another factor that separated Anika and Cookie, though it was through no fault of his own. There was something about the Anika/Malcolm relationship that annoyed Cookie, and she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Deep down, Cookie loved Anika and Malcolm as a couple. Taking his cues from Lucious, Malcolm channeled all his hatred for Angelo into his love for Anika, and they were both the better off for it. Malcolm kept Anika's spirits high, while Anika kept Malcolm's angry spirit in check.

Taking two weeks' leave off work and later spending every weekend in New York, it was that Malcolm who found and fixed liquid meals to keep Anika nourished, escorted her to doctor's appointments, and helped her deal with her limited interaction with Bella. Malcolm was the one who was with Anika when the wire was finally removed from her jaw. Finally, Cookie realized one day that she was annoyed with _Malcolm_ , not Anika. Cookie was supposed to be the one fixing meals, comforting Anika while she cried, and holding her hand while the wire was finally removed from her mouth. Malcolm was taking care of that, and that was wonderful of him. But because of that, Cookie still hadn't made it up to Anika. She still didn't know how to say _I'm sorry._

* * *

Getting their lives back to normal was a slow process. There were no therapy sessions, no hugging and crying, no weepy moments of forgiveness. Cookie had her man and she had her sons. She had her granddaughter, and Bella's mother - the blood of her blood - was equally happy and loved. Cookie and Anika could grieve together, but they were meant to heal separately. That's just the way things were.

Lucious and Cookie dated briefly, but ultimately found it to be a waste of time. "What are we supposed to do up until it's time to get married again?" Lucious asked. "Have pizza night?" Cookie agreed, and with that, it was decided. As soon as Anika and Lucious's divorce was finalized, Lucious and Cookie would remarry, picking up right where they left off when Cookie went off to prison.

"A divorce party?" Malcolm laughed when Anika told him the news a couple of weeks later. They were in Malcolm's D.C. apartment, where Anika was prancing around wearing nothing but a pair of Malcolm's boxer shorts and her silk robe.

"Well, it's a lot of things. It's a divorce party, an engagement party, a welcome-to-the-family party - that's about you -" Anika kissed Malcolm on the tip of his nose. "Then there's my jaw bring healed...oh, and Lucious surrendered custody of Bella to Hakeem. Lots of things to celebrate."

Malcolm nodded in agreement. "What day is it?"

"The 24th."

"Oh, wow." Malcolm frowned. "I'm sorry, Anika. I'll be in training that weekend. But I'll do my best to make it out there to see you, if nothing else." He laughed while Anika pouted. She was so used to getting her way with Malcolm. "I promise, Anika. I'll do my best." Malcolm drew Anika close. "If _anybody_ is ready to celebrate your divorce, it's me."

"How about I show you how we're gonna celebrate afterwards?" Anika smirked as she removed her robe. She saw the sadness in Malcolm's eyes as he gazed was fixed on the stab wound in her side. Cookie had suggested a tattoo to cover it up, but Anika refused. The wound, just like the long scar on her forearm, was a testament to her tenacity and her fight. She would never cover up either one.

Malcolm dropped to his knees and kissed the wound. "I am so in awe of you," he said, his warm lips brushing against her skin. "You know that, right?"

It was the closest thing Malcolm would say to "I love you." But Malcolm didn't need to tell Anika that he loved her. She already knew that he did. Malcolm could've thrown it up in her face a million times that Anika had snuck off to Toronto to meet Angelo, but he never did, not once. Instead, Malcolm helped Anika with her handwriting exercises. He took care of Bella from time to time so that Anika could get some sleep. Malcolm got along great with Hakeem, and Bella adored him. Malcolm didn't need to tell Anika that he loved her. He proved it to her every day.

Anika joined Malcolm on the floor. "I'm in awe of you, too," she replied, straddling his waist and leaning down to kiss him. The DuBois were all but forgotten in Malcolm and Anika's eyes, not to mention Lucious and Cookie. That, as it turned out, nearly led to the Lyon family's undoing.

TBC


	9. One of Us

Bella was so close to being able to walk on her own by the spring. Sitting on the nursery balcony before the divorce dinner, Anika watched as Hakeem coaxed Bella to come to Daddy. Bella stood and sat, scooted and scuttled, crept and crawled, and _fell_ and _fell_ and _fell_. Though it hurt Anika to see her baby struggling, she knew Hakeem was right not to reach for Bella every time she stumbled. And setbacks notwithstanding, Bella seemed just fine.

"Knock, knock," Lucious called from the nursery door, as handsome as always. "I've come to escort my lovely wife to dinner," he announced. _For the last time_ , they both added to themselves.

"Aren't you kind of early?" Anika waved at Hakeem, who was taking Bella to his place to be bathed and dressed, and came back inside and glanced at the clock on the wall. "It doesn't start for another hour."

"I wanted to talk with you first."

Anika knew what Lucious had come to talk to her about, and she wanted to delay it as long as possible. "Have you and Cookie decided where you're going to honeymoon yet?"

"Cape Coast Castle in Ghana." Lucious sat on the sofa as Anika took her usual place in the rocking chair. "I know it sounds crazy, but we want to go through the Door of No Return."

"Kind of heavy for a honeymoon," Anika commented. "Walking through a slave port and whatnot."

"I know," Lucious agreed. "But I want to get a real appreciation for our roots, you know?" Anika nodded. "Maybe if I'd been instilled with that kind of pride and education, I would've found another way to support my family other than poisoning my own people."

Anika had never heard Lucious describe his drug dealing days that way before. "All of that is past, Lucious," she said kindly. "You and Cookie have given back to the community ten times over. Scholarships, internships, fundraisers..."

"Doesn't take away what we've done in the past, though, does it?" Lucious looked around his granddaughter's nursery. How many grandparents had suffered on his account, back when he was dealing dope?

"No. It doesn't." Husband and wife were quiet for a moment. "But you and Cookie didn't have the resources I did. I know she went to Catholic school and all, but it's a lot different when you're raised around money. Rich people help other rich people. They don't want to give a hand up to people like you. They don't want the Cookie Lyons of the world to rise above her station. You know what I mean?"

Lucious nodded. "Cookie was so smart, too. She was going to go to college, maybe even medical school. And I turned her into a street pharmacist," he added sadly.

"You and Cookie turned out two wonderful musicians and a brilliant Wharton-educated businessman," Anika reminded Lucious. "There's no blood on their hands. You broke the cycle, Lucious. I know you weren't perfect as a father-"

"I was a terrible father, Anika."

"-but God is giving you a second chance to be a good husband and father. Cookie always said you were a wonderful husband, so that just leaves the fatherhood part." Anika squeezed Lucious's hand again. "Not everybody gets the chance to try again, you know. You and Cookie's love has got to be blessed by God. So don't screw it up," she added with a wink.

Lucious let off a short laugh. "Speaking of screwing up," he said, kissing Anika on the back of the hand, "you and Malcolm still not talking?"

 _Damn_. Anika walked right into that. "It's over, Lucious. I told Cookie that, and I'm sure she told you."

"Don't you think this is a little...much?" Lucious prompted. "You can't forgive Malcolm for one little mistake?"

"See, that's why we're not talking about this." Anika's voice was tight. "It wasn't a little mistake. He _lied_ to me, Lucious. If I wanted to be in a relationship with a liar, I would've stayed with you. Sorry," she added when Lucious raised an eyebrow.

"Anika, Malcolm said he was going to training in Orlando. And according to Facebook, he's in Orlando." Lucious shrugged. "It's not like he had his face in some stripper's ass or anything. I don't see the problem."

"The training doesn't start until _Tuesday_ , Lucious." Anika swallowed the lump in her throat. "Malcolm could have been here if he wanted to be. He _knew_ how important this was to me. And you know what he said when I asked him why he lied to me?"

"He didn't lie to you, Anika-"

"Lying by omission is still a lie."

"Okay, fine." The last person who could argue about what was and wasn't a lie was Lucious Lyon. "What did he say?"

"He said, _'maybe I don't want to sit around with you and your family!'_ " Anika continued. "Can you believe that? It was like...like..."

"Like he's too good to break bread with us?" Lucious supplied. Anika nodded miserably. "I doubt if that's the case. Remember, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Malcolm. It's got to be something else."

"Maybe so," Anika answered. She wanted that to be the case. _But what could it possibly be?_

* * *

The morning of the first engagement dinner back in February, Anika came into Cookie's apartment and found her staring at two bottles of salad dressing - one Thousand Island, one ranch. Just staring. Nothing else. Cookie had been rather spaced out lately, ever since her doctor prescribed lithium for her depression on top of the Xanax she was already taking for anxiety. "Cookie? You need some help?"

Cookie whipped around. The bottle of Thousand Island slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor. Some of the dressing flew out of the bottle and splattered into the tossed salad. "Oh, my God...Lucious hates Thousand Island. I can't-I can't give him this."

"It's okay, Cookie. We have plenty of time. At least two more hours." Anika set her groceries on the counter. "Besides, that might have some glass in it. We couldn't serve it anyway."

Cookie shook her head as if she couldn't hear Anika. "I have to fix this...I-I-I have to...have to..." She turned, took one step, then froze at the sound of the glass beneath her boot. She looked down at the floor. The Thousand Island had splattered on her boots and the bottom of her skirt. She would have to change her clothes. Maybe even take another shower.

"Cookie?" Anika walked over to the island and took the ranch bottle from her hand. "Why don't you start chopping up some vegetables, okay? I can get the salad-"

Cookie jerked away. "I can do it," she snapped. She picked up the knife in her hand to...fix salad? No, to chop vegetables. But only after she changed her clothes. Or should she change first and chop later? Did she even have time to chop-no, change? Did she have time to take a shower? Did she really need one?

"Cookie?"

"I have to go change," Cookie mumbled. Anika called something to her while she was shuffling away, but Cookie didn't hear her. On her way to her bedroom, Cookie passed the couch that Angelo had given to her. The couch he'd choked her on. Later, he'd thrown her to the ground and kicked her like a dog. And after that, lying in freezing since cream and soda, he'd...

"Cookie! _Cookie, no!"_

For her own safety, Anika could do nothing but stand by as Cookie plunged the knife into the sharkskin leather over and over, as if the cutlery had a mind of its own. _"You motherfucker! You fucking cruel bastard! I hate you!_ _ **I hate you!"**_

Anika waited until the knife clattered to the floor before she dared to step in Cookie's direction. Anika. Anika. She had hurt Cookie, too. Hurt her rib the next morning with her elbow. _"Bitch!"_ Cookiehurled herself against Anika with all her strength. _"You fucking bitch! You whore!"_ Cookie was Angelo now, slapping and striking at Anika from above. Anika had the wherewithal to knock the knife out of Cookie's reach just before Cookie knocked her to the floor, but that didn't stop the long nails dragging down her face while Cookie's incoherent screams filled the air.

Still, Cookie's strikes were wild and uncontrolled. Anika waited until the right time to pop her hips up, roll Cookie over and pin on her back. She had the upper hand now, but looking into Cookie's terror-filled eyes gave Anika no pleasure. What was Anika to do to Cookie now? Slap her? Punch her? Aim for that weak rib and hope she'd snap out of it?

Justified as she would've been, Anika did none of those things. Instead, Anika sat Cookie up and rocked Cookie in her arms while Cookie sobbed her apologies. There was nothing else to do, really, since Cookie's mind had obviously gone to Never Never Land.

Later on, Andre, Jamal and Hakeem came into Cookie's apartment and found a shocking sight: a destroyed couch, a floor splattered with food and glass, and their battered stepmother stroking her assailant's hair as she cried in Anika's lap. "Call your father and tell him that we're postponing this dinner," Anika informed her stepsons mildly. "Oh, and call a housekeeper, too."

A few minutes later, Cookie sat silently as the paramedics secured her to a gurney, rolled it into an ambulance and whisked her away to the emergency room. Anika never let go of her hand.

* * *

In order to avoid an involuntary psychiatric hold (nobody believed Anika's story of a mutual fight), Cookie voluntarily checked herself into a psychiatric hospital. Lucious was barred from seeing Cookie at her request, as were her sons and her sisters. This gave Anika the unenviable task of having to tell everyone day after day that Cookie was fine. Anika didn't tell them that Cookie spent most of her time staring out of a window, doped up on antidepressants or crying uncontrollably. Two weeks later, Cookie came out of hospital bloated and apathetic, her voice soft with apologies to her family but saying little else. And Lucious knew right then that they weren't going to be married for quite some time.

Over the weeks, Cookie dutifully reported to a psychiatrist for continuing outpatient therapy. She took the prescribed antidepressants on top the medication she was already taking, since the doctors never bothered to ask Cookie if she'd been taking anything before her hospital stay. Cookie attended the group therapy sessions for domestic violence survivors, did all the required activities and wrote all the journal entries, even though her hands shook so hard that the doctor could barely read her handwriting.

Cookie also lost all of the weight she'd gained in the hospital, plus another 11 pounds. She spent most of her spare time sleeping. Cookie also started to smoke again, a nasty habit she developed when she was in prison. If being in the funny farm had helped Cookie, nobody could see it.

Enter Malcolm, who appealed to his ex-wife, Dr. Claudia Moore, for her rather... _unorthodox_ help of couples counseling. That meant being squirreled away in the coldest, most remote location of Ottawa, Ontario with no cell phones, no laptops, nobody except Lucious, Cookie and her cornucopia of meds. If Cookie hadn't been so heavily medicated, she might've protested more. As it was, Cookie just went along for the ride, chain smoking her last pack of menthols.

Cookie was coherent enough to hate that stringy-haired white bitch on sight - some upper class Midwestern cunt who didn't know one damn thing about the kind of street life Cookie and Lucious had lived. Cookie hated the doctor's probing questions and pinpoint accurate observations. She might not have had a drop of street smarts, but Claudia Moore was not a woman that one could easily bullshit. "You know," Claudia commented after another round of vague answers to her questions. "I get paid whether or not any of this works out for you two. So why don't we stop wasting time freezing our asses off and make this trip worth it?"

Claudia also had some rather harsh words for Cookie. "You wear those 17 years on your back like Christ carrying the cross," she admonished Cookie on their second night in the cabin. "Now, Lucious abandoned you - there's no question about that. But he's acknowledged and apologized for that that over and over. Do you forgive him or not?"

"Tell her, Doc," Lucious cheered under his breath. Claudia's head turned towards Lucious like a rattlesnake, and Lucious slumped in his chair. Claudia hadn't even _begun_ to chew his ass out yet.

As much as Cookie hated Claudia (Lucious, for some reason, adored the bitch), she had to admit that Claudia had broken more ground in six days than all of Cookie's doctors had in four months. Claudia knew when to talk, when to listen, when to probe and when to let things be. It was six miserable days of shouting, slammed doors and sleeping in separate rooms. Still, Lucious and Cookie were determined to do whatever it took for the sake of their future. "It took over 20 years to get the two of you to this table," Claudia reminded Lucious after one particularly painful night. "You can't fix that in a week."

Claudia also recalibrated Cookie's medications, reducing her five medications to two and helping her taper off her old meds so she could begin her new meds. To distract Cookie from detoxing, Claudia invited her husband Nick up to the mountains. Nick taught Lucious to properly chop wood ( _"Nice and steady, don't swing it like a baseball bat"_ ) and Claudia showed Cookie how to salt and store a deer hide. "Don't let the doctor in me fool you, Cookie. I'm just a regular ol' redneck. My husband is a wonderful hunter. So was my ex-husband."

"You're talking about Malcolm?" Cookie asked cautiously. His name hadn't been brought up a single time since Cookie and Claudia met.

"Uh-huh. Malcolm could take down game with a bow and arrow. Straight through the eye, every time. He said that it wasn't sportsmanlike to hunt with a rifle."

Cookie wasn't surprised. "Look, Claudia. I know it's none of my business, but..."

"...you want to know why Malcolm and I got divorced," Claudia finished. "Well, we were young and stupid and got married for all the wrong reasons. He was a lousy husband and I was a lousy wife. But it wasn't some bitter, nasty divorce or anything. We just realized we made a mistake and ended it." Claudia smiled at Cookie. "And we were right to do so. Otherwise, I never would've met Nick. And Mal never would've met...who's the woman he's all a-twitter about now?"

"Anika."

"Anika, right. You know, when I got remarried, Malcolm sent me a letter wishing me well. He's a good guy. Always was. And I'm sure he'll make a fine husband for your friend. We're not the same people at 25 as we are at 45." Claudia gestured over to Lucious, who was tying together bundles of firewood. "I think you'd agree."

If anybody had told Cookie that Lucious would be up in the mountains chopping wood, she would've laughed herself sick. "I agree," Cookie responded, and she didn't worry about Malcolm being with Anika anymore.

On their last night in the mountains, Cookie and Lucious enjoyed a dinner of Nick's venison chili and Cookie's honey cornbread with Claudia and Nick. They wouldn't be able to attend the wedding, so the Moores toasted Lucious and Cookie's good fortune and health. Only one thing would've made that night better: Anika and Malcolm had been invited to the dinner, too, but just like the February engagement dinner, Malcolm couldn't make it. Again.

* * *

"You know Malcolm didn't even let me pay him back for that Canadian therapy?" Lucious asked Anika while she was thinking things over. "He said, _'Put the money in a savings account for Bella.'"_

"That's wonderful," Anika answered. She was surprised and not surprised at the same time. "So why would a person who had done so much for this family refuse to come to something as simple as come to an engagement party? I just don't get it, Lucious. This is the third time he's stood me up."

"Well, you know that Malcolm lived in foster care for years," Lucious pointed out. "I doubt that he'd be down with any big family gathering, no matter who was throwing it."

"Wait...how in the world do _you_ know Malcolm grew up in foster care?" Malcolm didn't mention it to Anika for months after they started seeing each other.

"Me and Malcolm have gone out a couple of times to talk. He's a terrible pool player. But don't tell him that - I like taking his money." Lucious laughed at the expression on Anika's face. "What, you didn't think I'd let you just be with any ol' scrub, do you? Had to check him out. Make sure Malcolm was good enough for you." He winked at Anika. "We're going to get it right this time. Wait and see."

"And you think Malcolm's the one?" Anika asked. "Even after what he said?"

"Even after what he said," Lucious nodded. "You've forgiven me for so much so many times over when I didn't deserve it, Anika. Don't you think Malcolm's earned the benefit of the doubt?"

"I want to, Lucious." Anika blinked rapidly and swallowed again. "It's just...I mean, I have to sit and watch you basically dump me. I'd like to have somebody holding my hand when you do. I want my man next to me, Lucious. I don't care what his hang-ups are - I don't think that's too much to ask."

"I didn't know you felt that way, Anika." Nor had Anika given Lucious any idea that she did - the Countdown to Divorce Party was practically Anika's idea. "Do you want to call this off? I can always just take Cookie out to dinner and propose that way. You don't have to be a part of this if you don't want to."

Anika shook her head. "Cookie deserves this. I'm happy for you both, even if I don't seem like it right now. I guess..." Anika sighed as the clock in the nursery struck six. From downstairs, he could hear Bella babbling. "I guess I just miss my man," she admitted.

"What did Cookie tell you a long time ago?" Lucious reminded her. _"Don't blow it._ I'm not saying what Malcolm did was right. But he's got his reasons for not being here, even if we don't understand them. And Malcolm loves you so much, Anika. He wouldn't try to hurt you on purpose."

"How do you know that, Lucious?" Anika stood and smoothed her clothes.

"Know what? That he wouldn't try to hurt you?"

"No, that he loves me."

Lucious looked startled. "He told me so. More than once."

Anika laughed bitterly and shook her head. "Malcolm has never once told me that he loves me. Not a day in his life."

"Does he need to?" Lucious asked.

Anika smiled against her will. "No," she admitted.

"Follow me." Lucious took Anika by the hand and led her to a mirror. "Look at the way you're smiling," he instructed. "Don't be proud, Anika. It's just not worth it." Lucious offered Anika his arm. "Next time Malcolm calls, you talk to him. I'm not saying you have to marry him, or even have to take him back. I know what he said doesn't sound too good, but at _least_ hear him out. Okay?"

"Okay." Anika dropped Lucious's arm and slid her hand into his. "I will. Now let's eat, Mr. Lyon." All this forgiveness was making Anika hungry.

* * *

That evening, everybody was in high spirits. The food was delicious, the wine flowed freely and the stories and jokes were plentiful. Even Bella laughed and clapped her hands before growing sleepy and being placed into her bassinet.

When Lucious walked to the other side of the table, dropped to one knee and asked Cookie to marry him, Anika felt surprisingly happy for her. There was no formal proposal from Lucious, no dramatic "I accept" answer from Cookie. Just a ring and a kiss, laughter and applause.

"Of course, before you and I marry," Lucious stated as he rose to his feet, "there's some business that has to be taken care of. Miss Anika, it's about time you get your independence."

Anika nodded and forced a smile. She really was happy for Cookie, and she knew that this marriage was best for everybody. But Anika had given nearly six years of her life to this man - arguably her _best_ years. It was hard not to feel cast aside.

"Anika," Lucious went on, standing behind Cookie's chair. Cookie smiled up at her husband-to-be. "A lifetime ago, you told us that you wanted your child to have a family, and she does, now and always. But you are also a part of this family, Anika. You'll always be a Lyon. And I'm sorry that we haven't treated you like we should have."

"You're not blood, Anika," Cookie interjected, "but you're the blood of our blood. And you'll always have a place at our table. That is," she added, almost shyly, "if you still want to be one of us."

Over a year ago, Anika had humbled herself in front of this family - a family full of people that she pretty much hated, and vice-versa. She'd all but pleaded to the Lyon family to accept her child. Anika never once thought they would accepted her as well _,_ not even after Cookie talked her down from a balcony by reiterating that Anika was a Lyon. But here she was, right now, being welcomed into the Lyon family - not as Lucious's wife or because she was Bella's mother. Anika had fought for this family, had risked her life for this family. Her child's family. Her family now.

And it was Andre, of all people, who made it official. _"One of us, one of us,"_ he said under his breath. _"Gooble gobble, one of us."_

Jamal laughed and joined in. _"One of us, one of us. Gooble gobble, one of us."_ Then Cookie joined in the chant. Soon everybody at the table - even that old hag Leah - joined in. _"One of us! One of us!"_ everyone cheered. _"Gooble gobble, one of us!"_

"Alright, alright, _alright!"_ Lucious yelled over the happy chanting as he rose to his feet. "Everybody, raise a glass."

Anika wiped tears of laughter from her eyes and reached for her glass of water as the noise died down. Standing at the head of the table, Lucious walked back to his chair and smiled down at the woman he was still married to, if only for little while longer. "Anika, the Lyon family pledges our loyalty, our support and our protection to you and yours, now and always." Lucious lifted his glass. "Will you, Anika Calhoun, pledge your loyalty and your friendship to this family - to _your_ family - now and always?"

Anika looked around the table. Jamal was grinning. Hakeem's smile was as bright as sunshine. Andre's eyes were soft and supportive. And Leah - the old crone who had given her hell since the day they met - actually winked at her. "Now and always," Anika promised, her voice strong, her heart light.

With that, Lucious lifted his glass above his head. "To the Empire!"

 _ **"To the Empire!"**_ everybody shouted, and then the chant started up yet again. _"One of us! One of us! Gooble gobble, one of us!"_

Amidst the gaiety, Lucious wordlessly slid Anika two sets of papers. The first was a corrected birth certificate with Hakeem listed as Bella's father, the way it should've been from the beginning. The second was a divorce settlement. Even with everything Anika had done for Empire and for the Lyon family, the number was still staggeringly high. There would be no need for lawyers _,_ no drawn out separation. Anika and Lucious would divorce with dignity.

 _Thank you,_ Lucious mouthed, and squeezed Anika's hand. It wasn't just for what Anika had done for Cookie, or even because she'd married Lucious to save him from the Feds. It was Anika's gracious way of stepping aside, of righting the wrongs of the universe. As Malcolm had told her once, there was no shame in being second place to a woman like Cookie Lyon. Once Anika came to grips with that, it was amazing how much brighter her future became.

* * *

The story should've ended there.

The story should've ended with a small, intimate ceremony renewing the love of Lucious and Cookie Lyon. Jamal and Hakeem as groomsmen. Andre presiding over the nuptials of his mother and father. Bella as the world's loveliest flower girl. Lucious, handsome as always in tux and tie. Cookie in a beautiful gown, the baddest bitch alive.

Malcolm would have come, of course. Lucious would've talked Malcolm into it, or maybe Cookie would've demanded it. Anika would've been put off by first - maybe for play, maybe for real - but Malcolm ultimately would've taken Anika into his arms. He would've explained why he shunned family dinners, while Anika would've explained how important that engagement dinner was. There would've been forgiveness All would have been well. The celebration of a lifelong love, the acknowledging of a new love.

Instead, what started as a joyous occasion ended with guns drawn as Cookie was forced to take Bella from her mother's arms. A raid, an _unjust_ raid initiated by a heartless woman with no evidence of the child abuse claims and no thoughts of the trauma she was causing for an innocent baby. The Lyons could make threats to take on the world, but Bella Lyon still disappeared into the system, untraceable and unverifiable.

"You think I don't know who's behind this?" Anika heard Lucious say as everyone filed out of the living room to make calls, write emails and do any and all kinds of research. "It's the DuBois!" Anika didn't pay attention to anything at that moment. All Anika could hear were the cries of her baby girl as she was rushed out the door.

* * *

For a moment, Anika hated Hakeem for not being by her side when the Lyons and the DuBois had a war council. But she couldn't blame him, not really, when she couldn't even take her shades off. Oh, how Anika wished she had Cookie's fight! Cookie, who had suffered at Angelo's hands the worst and for so long, but was still ready to go toe-to-toe (literally) with Diana DuBois for Bella's sake. As it was, it took all the strength in Anika's body just to sit there.

Despite the arguing, the accusations and Anika's tearful pleading, Diana wouldn't budge. "I am _so_ sorry," Diana said to Anika, and one would almost believe that she was being sincere. "I think it's terrible that your child was taken. You are so much better than the company you keep."

Anika rose from her seat. She wasn't fooled, not for a second. "I _am_ the company I keep!" she snapped.

"Gooble gobble, bitch," Cookie taunted under her breath.

"Even though Anika and I are getting divorced," Lucious spoke up, "she is still the blood of our blood. You mess with Anika Calhoun, you messin' with _us._ Remember that, Ms. DuBois."

Diana grew quiet. It never occurred to her that the Lyons would take Anika into their fold. That changed things. "I have to say I'm not exactly impressed," she finally replied. "Especially since your grandchild's own father didn't bother to show up today."

"You have no right bringing up Hakeem being missing," Anika fired back. "Where is Angelo, huh? Why has he suddenly disappeared after what he did to me?"

Everyone around both sides of the table began to murmur. "Out," Diana ordered her family. Everyone on Diana's side, including the lawyers, rose and filed out of the room without a word. The Lyons weren't so obedient, but left at Lucious's command. After a word with Cookie, Lucious left as well, shooting a worried look back at Cookie. That only left Cookie, Anika and Diana, who apparently felt bold enough to take both of them on.

"What did my son do to you, Anika?" The sweetness and concern in Diana's voice was gone now. "Are you talking about you, a married woman, seduced my son? If he broke your heart, honey, that is _your_ fault, not his."

"That's not what I mean and you know it." Anika took a breath, trying to emulate Cookie's steely reserve. She felt like a child sitting next to Cookie. "Don't tell me that you don't know, Diana. I know that Angelo called you for help after he _thought_ he killed me."

"My son would never put his hands on a woman," Diana said smoothly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"But I do." Cookie put forward. "The first time Angelo beat me, he called you and told you that I hit my head. The only thing my head hit was your son's fist. That wasn't the first time and it wasn't the last time, either-"

All of Diana's poise was gone in the face of Cookie's accusations. _"Where is my son!?"_ she hissed under her breath. "I know you two hoodrats had something to do with him going missing!"

"Don't know, don't care," Cookie shot back. "But good riddance."

They knew. Of _course_ they knew where Angelo was. Trapped in a bunker somewhere, or worse. But Diana didn't let on. She merely snapped her fingers. Once again, her brood came filing in like the creepy Stepford family that they were. "I have no idea what happened to your child," Diana repeated as the Lyons also reappeared. Again, she sounded so sincere. If Anika didn't have the Lyons in her corner, she might have been willing to believe Diana out of desperation. Certainly a woman with this much clout and power wouldn't stoop so low as to steal an infant, would she?

But even if Anika had been fooled, Cookie wasn't. "So...y'all really wanna go down this road?" she asked disgustedly. Diana didn't reply. All the Lyons could do was rise from the table. Cookie turned over a chair as she left, walking ahead of all the others. She was ready for war. But she had no idea where to strike.

As they made their ways to their cars in the parking garage, Anika saw the uncomfortable look exchanged between Lucious and Cookie. In the weeks since the Toronto debacle, Anika hadn't given Angelo a second thought. Never paid attention to the news stories that made mention of his disappearance. And even if she had, it never would've dawned on her, as it dawned on her right then, that Angelo DuBois was dead. "What did you do, Lucious?"Anika struck at Lucious, who didn't flinch from the blows. "You killed him! _My baby's gone because of you!"_ No wonder Diana wasn't willing to turn Bella over. She could almost hear Diana's thoughts: _they stole my baby, so I'll steal theirs._ Anika would never see Bella again, just like Diana would never see Angelo again.

As Anika lashed out at Lucious, Cookie stepped forward to speak on Lucious's behalf. Lucious held up his hand and gave a subtle shake of his head. Let Anika think that Lucious was to blame for all of this, at least for now. If Anika knew who was _really_ behind Angelo's death, she would fall apart completely.

* * *

With Bella having fallen off the face of the earth, Hakeem sank into a stupor. Anika tried to keep her hopes up, but every minute that passed without her daughter was like a year. Worse, Malcolm wasn't returning Anika's calls, or even Lucious's. There was only one other person Lucious could think to call, and it was a long shot.

For a man who'd had his career ruined by the Lyons, Tarik Cousins was surprisingly understanding about the kidnapping situation. Bella was his niece, after all, and he held no ill will towards his brother or his brother's wife. "We'll find her, Anika," Tarik assured. "Don't worry. Okay? I'm in your corner, no matter what happened in the past."

The DuBois were powerful, but they were sloppy and overconfident, even strolling around the neighborhood with Bella in tow. Finding them was easy. Getting to them, however, was hard. The DuBois had virtually everybody in their pocket - policemen, judges, court-appointed caretakers. Even the people Tarik thought he could count on turned out to either be useless, afraid or bought off.

It was a nearly a week before Tarik had news to share with Lucious about Bella. "Turns out that we're not the only ones chasing the baby," he informed Lucious grimly. "Someone is offering to tell Diana DuBois about the disappearance of her son in exchange for...well, I'm not really sure. I can't even figure out his motives. All I know is that resources and his power outstrip mine by far." Tarik pulled out a voice recorder and pressed the play button. "Tell me if you recognize the voice or not."

For a minute, there was nothing unusual - just Diana DuBois crying about her son and all his mayoral dreams. Lucious was just about to ask Tarik what he was supposed to be listening for when a male's voice filled the air. _"Mrs. DuBois,"_ said the voice on the recorder. _"I want you to know that I don't hold anything against Angelo. There's no telling what Anika Lyon told him. This is about Bella, and the safest thing to do is to keep her away from the Lyon family. Bella is the key to getting your son back. You cannot let her fall back into the Lyons' hands, no matter what they offer your or bribe you."_

The recording kept going, but Lucious couldn't hear the words. Blood was rushing in his ears, and his heart was pounding so loudly that he knew his brother could hear it. "Lucious? Are you okay?" Tarik placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Do you recognize the voice?"

"That..." Lucious struggled to form the words. It couldn't be, it just _couldn't_ be. But Lucious had heard the recording with his own ears. He knew who it was, all right. It was the voice of betrayal. "That's Anika's ex-boyfriend," Lucious finally replied. "That's Malcolm DeVeaux."

TBC


End file.
